


wouldn't ignorance be bliss?

by ThunderAirborne



Category: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Genre: Adopted Children, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Character, Demisexual Character, I can have a little time travel (as a treat), Multi, Time Travel, major character death is only canon compliant, mentioned child abuse, only a little tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24566332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThunderAirborne/pseuds/ThunderAirborne
Summary: Fate is an interesting thing. It doesn’t control a person’s decision, or even predict them. Simply put, God knew humans. God created every human and knows exactly what sort of decisions they would make. Fate, and knowing fate, is simply knowing what God knows.And God knows exactly what a person will do when put in the crucible.Marie Belmont is a prophetess - the only true prophetess there is in this world. From the moment she meets Gabriel Belmont she knows precisely who and what he will become.She falls in love with him anyway.
Relationships: Gabriel Belmont | Dracula/Marie Belmont, Gabriel Belmont/Original Characters, Marie Belmont/Original Characters, Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	wouldn't ignorance be bliss?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my amazing beta/sister, Lightningstarborne!

It is impossible to truly predict the future. The flow of time is fluid and even the smallest of actions can change the course of history. That is the first thing a prophet is taught.

~

For the first few months of her life, she was ordinary. Once she could speak however, her parents knew she was not an ordinary child. She knew things she shouldn’t and her bright curiosity was often contrasted by her quiet sorrow. Her parents weren’t concerned until one day, at the age of two, she matter of factly informed her father of how he was going to die. 

They arranged a trip to visit the Brotherhood of Light within the next hour.

~

“Daddy, when are we going to stop?” Marie’s feet swung back and forth as she contemplated throwing herself out of the carriage. She was sooooo bored and it wasn’t any fun to sit in a carriage all day. They’d already been on the road for three days and she was going to die if she was cooped up for another  _ hour _ . Daddy had tired of her questions early on and she didn’t understand. She just wanted to know why wood was brown, why the carriage was so bumpy, why the sky was blue, and why…. She had so many questions!

“Not much longer, honey.” Uggggggh.

“Daddy, you’ve said that  _ at _ least…..” What was a big number again? “Seven times!”

“Marie, hush.”

She was sure that they spent  _ at least _ another four hours in the carriage and Daddy still didn’t answer  _ any _ of her questions. However, when he let them out of the carriage he walked into the biggest building Marie had ever seen in her life.

Daddy didn’t let her sit and stare as he pulled her towards the building. He was going to fast and she was struggling to put one foot in front of the other and he was just going so  _ fast _ and he usually went her pace and she couldn’t help it and suddenly her feet weren’t on the ground anymore and her face  _ hurt _ .

It was the worst pain she had ever felt in her  _ life _ and she couldn’t have stopped the loud cry if she wanted to. She really hated crying but she couldn’t stop herself. After three days of being in an uncomfortable carriage, Daddy being mad, and now  _ falling _ she couldn’t stop crying.

Is that a  _ flower? _

She looked at it, then to the boy holding it. He smiled at her, put it in her hands, then stood up and ran away.

Marie had never been more confused.

~

The boy was soon put out of her mind when she spent allllll of the next day talking to stuffy old men. They didn’t let her play  _ at all _ and they didn’t answer any of her questions. They just sat and asked her about things she knew. If they wanted her to know things, why wouldn’t they answer her questions?

Finally she got fed up, looked at the one with the weird eyes and said, “You’re going to die alone in a  _ ditch _ .” She huffed, crossed her arms, and  _ glared _ .

“Is that something you  _ know _ ?” They always put a weird emphasis on the word ‘know’ and she  _ hated _ it. If they didn’t know, then why should she tell them?

“Why do you care?”

When she refused to say another word, they put her in a room with a nice man who gave her a cake.

“Why are all those men asking weird questions? If they don’t know something, why don’t they read a book?” The man looked up and gave her a kind smile. He looked like the kind of man who spent  _ days _ in the library.

“They think you have special magic, that you know things that you shouldn’t. They don’t know things because they don’t have that magic.”

“Why won’t they answer  _ my _ questions if I have to answer theirs?”

“You’re very well spoken for a child,” he smiled at her and while she usually didn’t like being called a child, he didn’t sound like he was trying to be mean so she didn’t say  anything, “They won’t answer your questions because they think theirs are more important.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re all grown up and they think they’re better than you.”

“Rude.” The man laughed, and when he asked her about what she knew, she told him.

~

The next day before dinner, when the men were talking in a private room with her daddy, she ran into the boy again.

He was sitting on a stump with a grumpy expression. She didn’t like that. She wanted him to be happy and smile! She looked at him for a moment and  _ knew _ . She could choose to know so many things about him but she only chose one for now: his name.

“Your name is Gabriel, right?” His head jerked up.

“How did you know that?” He was still unhappy, and she didn’t like that. 

“I asked,” she smiled at him, “How old are you?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” He seemed to hesitate over the answer.

“I’m three.”

“Why are you so mad? Three year olds shouldn’t be mad.” He seemed startled by her declaration. 

“What does that mean? Do I have to be four before I can be mad?” She smiled at him again.

“Well, old people are always angrier. But you’re not old.”

If you were to ask Gabriel why he stayed to sit with the bright eyed, well spoken girl, he wouldn’t be able to tell you. He could tell you that it was the happiest conversation he’d ever had. 

~

After the Brotherhood had officially declared her a prophetess, she visited often. As a merchant, her father travelled a lot and would often let her stay at their compound rather than take her with. She was disappointed that she wasn’t allowed to learn how to fight, but she got to spend days in the library. Gabriel became a fast friend. She often found him sitting by himself with a grumpy expression and made it her personal mission to fix it.

“Can you really see the future, Marie?” He asked her one day, when he was seven and she was six. 

“Yes!” He smiled back at her bright expression, “But! I don’t think the Brotherhood knows that I know whatever I want to know about people.”

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Well, right now, if I wanted to know what… Michael had for lunch three days ago, I could know that. I could also tell you what he will eat for lunch tomorrow. I can tell you who Malachi will marry, how Mr Carlisle will die, and anything else.”

“Do you always know?” Gabriel had cocked his head and was gazing at her with the same intensity he practiced weaponry.

“No. It’s more like… asking. If I want to know, I will but I don’t always know. That would be tiring. And boring. Why would I want to know what Michael had for lunch?”

~

A lot of the kids thought Gabriel was grumpy, but she thought they were just rude. Gabriel was happy and playful all the time. The grumpiness was only sometimes. So when he was nine and she was eight, she was interrupted by him running into the library.

“ _ Marie! _ ” His whisper could hardly be called such but the librarian didn’t yell, so it was a win, “ _ Marie, come on! There’s a group of bunnies in the forest! _ ” 

Marie had practically launched herself out of her chair to join him. 

~

When she was ten and Gabriel was eleven, he convinced the battle masters to teach her how to fight. Nothing too dangerous, but just enough to defend herself. They also believed that if she thought she needed to learn, then she should. It was one of her favorite benefits of being a prophetess. The didn’t let Gabriel help though, which was the real pity.

~

At eleven years old, she didn’t get to visit the Brotherhood at all. Just as she had predicted when she was a toddler, her parents died from a sudden illness and she nearly passed herself. Soon after she turned twelve, she moved into the Brotherhood compound.

~

“Did you know how he was going to die?” At thirteen years old, Gabriel fell into fits of brooding more often than he did as a child and it was harder for his teachers to draw his  attention away from his own mind. 

“It was why they brought me here initially. I told my father how he would die. I think, in the end, he didn’t really believe me.” 

“Will you tell me how I die?”

Marie looked deep inside herself, to the place that knew everything, to the magic that told her whatever she wished and she  _ knew _ . She knew that Gabriel Belmont would  never truly die. She knew the first time he would die, then the second, and then the eternity of pain he would suffer because he could not die.

“Marie!” She opened her eyes to see his beautiful blue eyes, the same eyes his son would one day have.

“I beg of thee, Gabriel, ask me anything I know but not that.”

“I- are you okay?” No, she was not. The Brotherhood of Light was going to destroy her beautiful Gabriel, destroy the love and concern she could see in him and she would never forgive them for it. She couldn’t tell him though. The future was her duty and she couldn’t ruin millions of lives because she loves him too much.

“Promise me,” she begged.

“I-” she could see the hesitation in his eyes, “I promise I will never seek to know how I die. Now, Marie, are you okay?” She smiled at him, heartbroken.

“I will be, now help me up. I could use a cup of tea.” He rushed to fulfill her request and she closed her eyes once more.

She was twelve years old, Gabriel was thirteen, when she learned how life, and death, would destroy him. She also knew that one day, she would marry him.

As he came back into the room with two cups of tea, one medicinal and one “because the medicine is rank, Marie,” she found that she was glad to know he would be the man  she married.

~

When she got her first bleed, the Brotherhood decided that they needed to be separated for “proprietary purposes.” Marie thought this was bullshit and raised hell for almost a week. When the head of the brotherhood found a dead chicken in his bed, and the pastor got covered in honey, they let them interact again.

~

Sometimes, Marie thought it was a curse to know more about someone than they themselves did. Sometimes, she found it hilarious. 

Such as the day that, when Gabriel was fifteen and she was fourteen, Gabriel came running into her office (being a prophetess had its perks) with a look of panic on his face. He dropped into the chair in front of her desk while she calmly sipped her tea.

“Marie,” he gasped, “I think I…. oh lord, I don’t know how to… I think…” he jerked his head up and stared at her for a moment, “You know, don't you.”

“I’m a prophet, I know everything. But please, go on, I’m enjoying your alarm.” She took another sip of her tea as he glared at her.

“I’m going to hell and you’re calm as can be!” He had a beautiful growl to his voice that would one day strike fear into Satan himself, but never in Marie.

“Gabriel, if you go to hell, it will be for far more interesting reasons than thinking that Peter has a nice ass and doing something about it.” Gabriel looked horrified.

“Marie!”

“Look, as long as you aren’t super obvious about it and you don’t do anything dickheaded, the Brotherhood will look the other way.”

“But I think girls are nice too!” Gabriel dropped his head into his hands and Marie had never seen Gabriel be so honestly distraught so she finally took pity on the poor boy.

“In the future they have a term for it.” His head shot up.

“Oh?” He didn’t even try to hide his curiosity.

“The word for being attracted to two genders is ‘bisexual’ or ‘bi.’ It’s also not an abomination to God so if you go to hell, it will be for a more interesting reason.”

“I hate you.”

“Go bugger Peter, and you’ll hate me a little less.”

“Any advice? I don’t exactly know how to flirt.”

“Ask for a one on one spar, don’t be an ass, and don’t treat him like you think he’s a girl. You’ll do fine. Have fun.” 

It was interesting, Marie thought, to know that she would one day marry this disaster of a man. To know that one day, he would kill her. For now he was a helpless boy in the middle of a crisis and she knew how to help.

She took another sip of her tea and turned back to her work.

~

“All prophetesses get married!” At fifteen years old, Marie sat in the office of the head pastor of the Brotherhood giving him a look fit to kill. Gabriel knew that he had no right to be listening in on the conversation, but he was concerned for Marie. He had heard… rumours about the head pastor and couldn’t stand the idea of her getting hurt. Which was how he ended up curled into a ball in the rafters.

“I will not marry until I decide it is so.” Marie’s voice was cold in a way he’d only heard once before - she had used it on one of the Brotherhood’s trainers the day he’d broken Michael’s arm. He would never forget what she had said, only nine years old at the time: “Not even Hell has a place for those who take pleasure in hurting children.”

“Listen, I don’t care if you think you know better than me but you must marry as a prophetess.” The pastor’s voice was slowly rising in anger. They’d been arguing for almost ten minutes and Gabriel was certain the entire compound could her them.

“I do know better: I’m a prophetess and if you had ever taken a moment to read any text or history regarding prophets, you would know that every single one has chosen their spouse, as well as when and where. It comes with the territory.” Marie’s voice stayed the same throughout her rant. She was cold and collected and Gabriel couldn’t be more proud of his best friend.

“Then tell me who you will marry, wench, and I’ll let you go.” It took everything in Gabriel to remain in place and not knock the man out of his chair.

“I have no obligation to share that with you.” Marie’s chin lifted up in defiance and Gabriel could see the fury it invoked in the priest.

He jerked as the priest’s hand flew toward Marie’s face. He couldn’t just let him hurt -

He blinked in surprise as she batted his hand to the side. Gracefully, she rose to her feet and pushed her chair in, as if they had been having a cordial conversation.

“This conversation is over, pastor.”

Two hours later found Marie leaning against Gabriel in the forest. After years of the Brotherhood being cold and unfeeling, Gabriel found that he loves the feeling of another human pressed against him. In those moments he would know that they are safe. Gabriel was considered by the teachers to be the best of the best. He was also considered the most tactile by the other students. None of them would dare criticize that trait considering he was at the top of the food chain and, more importantly, they were desperate for touch too. He wasn’t humble enough to deny that he was also  _ very _ good in bed, which definitely helped him get cuddle buddies out of his peers. 

He knew they were child soldiers, they all were. It was the price they paid for the food they ate and the house they lived in. He also knew that one day he wouldn’t be able to protect them all. It infuriated him more than anything to know that one day they would die serving a Brotherhood that didn’t truly care. They were his and the Brotherhood didn’t deserve such a sacrifice. He knew that God had a plan for them all, he just wished that it caused those he loved pain.

_ Please, God, I will take all the suffering you wish to thrust upon me but please watch after them. They shouldn’t have to be that strong _ . It was a prayer he made daily.

“Gabriel.” He tightened his arms around Marie, “Gabriel, you’re brooding again.”

“Do you want to get married?” He’d known for years that she would one day get married and leave but that didn’t mean he was happy about it.

“Not right now!” There was laughter in her voice and Gabriel could feel his whole being warm with it, “I’ll get married when I want to and not a moment sooner.” 

“Do you…” Gabriel hesitated. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know but, “Do you know who you’re going to marry?” 

“Of course I do, I know everything,” Marie’s smile was bright and happy as she leaned her head back on his shoulder and Gabriel knew that no matter who she married, he would love him if only because he made her smile like that.

“Could you tell me what you know about him?” Quick as a flash, Marie turned around and kneeled in front of him. They hadn’t been the same height since they were children but with him sitting and her kneeling, they were eye to eye. Then she gave him the sweetest smile.

“No.”

“No?” He grinned at her, then lunged.

“No!” Her cry turned into laughter as he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. He spun her around until he was too dizzy to continue, then dropped her back down. He couldn’t stop smiling as she giggled in his arms.

“I guess it’s fine if you don't tell me,” he tapped her nose, “but at least tell me if he’s nice?”

“Well of course! Otherwise I would kill him and so would you.”

“He can only die once.”

“Please,” Marie rolled her eyes, “Magic exits and I’m sure I could find a way to resurrect one man.”

~

Gabriel was seventeen years old when he finally realized he was head over heels in love with Marie.

“ Gabriel?” Michael poked his bare shoulder, “Gabrieeeeeel.”

“Stop being obnoxious, I’m having a crisis here.” Gabriel rolled over so he could face plant into his pillow. 

“So graceful you look there, archangel, all tangled in your sheets.” He flailed for a moment to find a pillow and smacked Michael with it. He must have used more strength than he thought because Michael yelped.

“So graceful you sound there, soldier, yelping like a child.”

“Come on, Gabriel, tell me what you’re thinking.” Michael poked him again. And again. And again. Gabriel flailed for another pillow to throw at him but Michael just laid down on his arm. Gabriel decided it wasn’t enough effort to fight back.

“I’m in love with Marie.”

“What’s that, Gabriel? I couldn’t hear you through all that pillow.” Gabriel turned his head just enough for Michael to hear him.

“I said I’m in love with Marie, asshole.” With that, he turned his head back into his pillow and Michael didn’t speak for a moment.

“You mean you’re just figuring this out?”

“What do you mean ‘you’re just figuring this out?’”

“Pillow, Gabriel.” Gabriel sighed, jerked his arm out from under Michael then pulled himself up to the headboard.

“What do you mean.”

“Someone’s grumpy,” Michael poked him again and Gabriel slapped his hand.

“I’m always grumpy, ask the instructors,” He glared at Michael, “Now answer my question.”

“I mean how the hell can you have gone so long without realizing you’re in love with Marie? Everyone in the compound knows. I mean, the reason the pastor was insisting on her getting married so early was so that he could marry her instead.”

“What?! He’s a crotchety old man, she would never marry him.”

“Yeah, but he thinks because he’s the pastor, he can do what he wants.” Michael rolled over and put his head on Gabriel’s thigh. Gabriel smiled fondly then pulled him up so his head was on Gabriel’s chest instead, their legs tangling. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments.

“Do you think Marie loves me too?” Gabriel felt Michael look up at him.

“If she’s not in love with you, which I think she is, she definitely still loves you more than anyone in this compound.”

~

Marie was sixteen years old when she realized that she was in love with her disaster of a best friend. She knew that she was going to marry him, but knowing that was completely different from actually falling in love with him.

She knew his future. She knew what he would one day become, the death and pain he would cause. She thought it would change things, knowing all the details. She had looked one day. She had told the masters of the brotherhood that she was looking to prevent a painful future and they had left her alone for a day while she searched. She had learned all the painful details of how Gabriel would become a monster and it took everything in her stay calm. She had wanted to run at the masters, screaming, yelling about how they would one day destroy the brightest of their order. She blamed them and God. While she loved God, she didn’t want to lose Gabriel to the darkness. She knew him well though. Given the chance, he would throw himself on a knife’s edge to protect everyone. 

It hurt to watch him with the other boys, to watch him love them with all his heart and protect them. To watch him teach them and guide them, knowing that one day he would hate them just as fiercely. 

If Gabriel did not feel with all the passion of a bonfire, Marie would not have fallen for him. 

By the time she had finished  _ knowing _ , the sun had gone down and she was curled into a ball crying. All propriety be damned, she had rushed to Gabriel’s bedroom in the compound. It was a simple room, as they all were but Gabriel rarely spent the night alone. 

She paused at the door for a moment to listen for any voices, then quickly pushed the door open.

She climbed onto the bed and reached for Gabriel.

“Grrgkh???” came a voice from the chest she’d just touched.

“Sorry, Peter.” The body behind him shifted.

“Marie? What are you… you shouldn’t be here.” She felt his hand touch her clothed shoulder, “Neither of us are dressed.”

“Fuck propriety,” she climbed over them and pulled down the blanket so she could slide under and snuggle up to Gabriel, “I just learned something unpleasant and I want to be held by my best friend.” She felt Gabriel move so that she could pillow her head on his shoulder.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Nah, Peter you’re good. Enjoy the human pillow.”

“Marie?”

“Yes, Gabriel?”

“I think we would both appreciate it if you would pretend we’re not nude.”

“With such nice specimens of manhood in this nice bed? Never.”

When the boys laughed and she could feel Gabriel’s chuckle reverberate through his chest, she could feel the tight knot around her heart loosen. 

It was in that moment she realized that she was in love with him. 

The life of a prophet would never be ordinary, but not even she could have predicted that she would fall in love with her best friend while lying in bed with him and another man, knowing that none of them wanted anything more than to sleep in the comfort of another human being.

~

When Gabriel turned eighteen, the brotherhood sent him on his first mission. They didn’t know how long it would take but Marie  _ knew _ he would return. Several months after Gabriel left, the Brotherhood sent Marie to a nunnery that specialized in Prophecy. She was to spend three months there to learn all that she could about prophecy. She knew she would not learn much.

Or so she thought. She had been so focussed on spending an unknown amount of time (eight months, one week, three days, and fourteen hours) without her best friend that she hadn’t thought to  _ know _ what she might learn.

When she arrived it took the nuns only a day to realize that she knew far more about prophecy than any person or book could possibly comprehend. However, the Brotherhood had told her to spend three months there, so three months she would spend there.

Instead she spent her time in the library studying books on theology, art, and science with the archivist. Sophie was a brilliant woman who was barely a year older than Marie. She had suffered an injury many years ago that damaged her legs. She could walk some but spent most of her time in a chair that had wheels.

Being a prophet meant Marie could know everything there is to know about a person just by looking at them which meant that she would far rather learn about the world around her. Being an archivist, Sophie knew more about the world than anyone Marie had ever met but she was adorably awkward.

“So, if you take a flower and have a bee pollinate another flower with a different color, sometimes the new plant will take the color of one of the parent plants and sometimes it will just mix! I theorize that something about the pollen tells…” Sophie spent over an hour telling Marie about her flowers and their genetic coding, though the term wouldn’t exist for another thousand years. She had been at the nunnery for about a month and she couldn’t stop staring at Sophie. 

“Oh!” Sophie’s face fell when Marie hadn’t responded for a few minutes, “I’m sorry, you probably don’t want to be hearing about all this…”

“Sophie, you’re  _ brilliant _ . I could listen to you talk all day.”

Two days later, Marie received her first kiss.

It was odd, she thought, that she lived in a compound full of men and occasionally spent the night in bed with a naked man or two and yet her first kiss came from a woman. 

She learned a lot over the next two months, about her own body and especially about Sophie’s. More importantly, she learned about all the knowledge and brilliance within Sophie’s head. 

She hadn’t wanted to come initially, but now she knew she would be sad to leave.

When the three months were up, she hardly noticed until Sophie wheeled into the library as fast as she could.

“Marie, dearheart, the Brotherhood’s escort for you has arrived and he is honestly the most beautiful man I have ever put my eyes on.” Marie dragged her eyes from the book to see the slight blush on Sophie’s face that was now familiar to Marie. 

“Well, I better grab my bags.”

“You don’t have to leave, you know,” Sophie said on their way to the front gate, “You can stay here, with us.” Marie bent down to give her a kiss.

“I would love to, but I have other matters to attend to that require me to stay with the Brotherhood. If I ever need an out, I promise I will return here.”

Sophie seemed satisfied with that, and so they went on their way. Marie still wished that she could stay longer. That is, until she saw the man waiting for her.

“Gabriel!”

~

“Have you ever lain with a woman, Gabriel?” At eighteen years old, Marie delighted in the sight of Gabriel choking on his drink.

“That’s hardly an appropriate question!” She couldn’t help but laugh at the affronted look on his face.

“It’s hardly appropriate that I sleep in your bed more often than not. You’ve never given a damn before.” She gave him her best ‘impassive prophet’ look.

“You just surprised me,” she shivered at the light growl in his voice, “I don’t exactly expect you to ask me about my proclivities.” 

“Why wouldn’t you when you came running into my office to ask me about sharing a bed with another man?” Her eyebrows raised and he glared at her.

“Yes, I have,” Marie was surprised when he didn’t elaborate.

“And? Who with, it’s not like we have many women in the compound - tell me all about her and the experience.” She couldn’t help but lean into Gabriel’s space like an unruly dog.

“How do you know I haven’t lain with many women over the years?”

“Because you only got to leave the compound by yourself last year and the only other options you have are me and the boys.” She smiled when Gabriel gave her a dark look.

“Fine, you’re right. I met her during my quest last year. She let me stay in her inn for no charge when I killed a beast that had been terrorizing her sister. I spent a couple of days there, just to make sure that nothing else would come after them.”

“Oh, is that the only reason you stayed?” Marie moved across the couch so she could sit in his lap, “It wasn’t in order to spend more time with a lovely lady?” She grinned up at him and only laughed as he pretended to shove her off. 

“Originally yes, you dirty minded wench.” Marie’s smile never faded at the playful insult, “Then, during my last evening there she decided to come into my room and proposition me.”

“Way to go, Gabriel!” Marie crowed, “So how was it?”

“Okay, I guess,” at Marie’s intense curious stare, he sighed, “It was definitely different than being with the boys. I guess…” Gabriel looked at his hands, “I love those boys you know, that’s why they spend so much time in my bed - they’re there because I love them and those who raised us couldn’t care less. This woman though, I barely knew her. I  definitely didn’t love her… I don’t know, Marie, it just felt… empty. Am I broken?”

“Are you broken because you love too much?” Marie grabbed his hands and looked him dead in the eye, “Gabriel, you’re perfect.”

“Then why didn’t I want her as much as I want my boys?” Marie sighed.

“First: please stop calling them boys, they’re your age and it sounds like you’re referring to children,” Gabriel pulled a face of such disgust that Marie couldn’t help but laugh, “Second: Why would only desiring those you truly love mean you’re broken?”

“I-” Gabriel started, then snapped his mouth shut, “Marie, I love you.”

“I know,” she said with a smile, “It’s because I’m brilliant. Feel better?”

“Yeah,” he gave her a soft smile, “Thanks. Your turn.”

“My turn?”

“Have  _ you _ ever lain with a woman?” By his tone of voice, Gabriel was joking but Marie was nothing if not honest.

“Well of course.” 

“What!” She cackled at his face as he stared at her, “You’re joking.” 

“I’m afraid not, my dear,” She couldn’t help the smirk on her face as he continued to stare.

“When? With who? You said it yourself: there’s not exactly a whole lot of women in the compound.” 

After a token complaint about sharing her life, she told him all about her time Sophie. He listened, enraptured, the entire time and she delighted in the intensity of his gaze. Gabriel’s attention was a wonderful thing to have and she would give almost anything to never lose it. 

“Have you ever lain with a man? I mean, you know that I have but it’s considered… less appropriate for you to do the same.” He gave her a chagrined expression at the admission.

“I have not,” she had little interest in any man, save one. He gave her an odd look.

“Is it because it’s not appropriate or is it because of whatever man you’re going to marry?”

“Neither,” she smiled at him, “Well a little bit of the second one I guess,” she hesitated before elaborating, “I’ve always thought that if I should allow a man to risk getting me pregnant, then he should be worthy of the honor.” 

“And your future husband is worthy of the honor?” he gave her a teasing smile before he froze, “Wait, are you going to have kids?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the shock on his face. 

“Spoilers, Gabriel,” she grinned at him, “But I will tell you that my husband will absolutely be worthy of being a father.” They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Gabriel spoke again, his voice tight like it was the first time she told him about her bleed.

“You, ah, you know there are ways to… lay with a man… without risking pregnancy.” She stared at him for a moment.

“I’ve heard of some of those ways, and let me tell you, I’ve heard some pretty horrible things about them. Mostly that they aren’t effective.” She gave him a Look, “Which means that, anyone who tells you otherwise should not be trusted and it will get you a bastard child.”

“For someone who apparently knows everything, you really can be ignorant,” he grinned at her, “Marie, do you trust me?” 

“With my life,” she smirked, “But not to leave my drink unattended.”

“I put salt in your tea once and you hold it against me for the rest of my life,” he pouted.

“Absolutely,” after a quick grin, she sobered, “Why do I need to trust you?”

“I love you and it’s really not fair that I can lay with whatever gender I want and you cannot. May I?” He held his hands out and Marie felt truly out of her depth. For all that she knew about the future, this was nothing that she had looked for. Now, she found that this wasn’t a decision she wanted to  _ know _ , it was a decision she wanted to make.

She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. Then he cupped her face with his large calloused hands and pulled her into a kiss that warmed her from head to toe.

Marie was eighteen years old and Gabriel was nineteen years old when they had sex for the first time. Propriety in their relationship had long since been tossed to the wind, and the Brotherhood could no longer tell her what to do.

She was halfway asleep, pressed close to Gabriel’s chest. She thought this might change things between them, but she was wrong. She pressed her nose into his neck and she could smell sex and something intrinsically Gabriel. She hummed softly and settled into him.

She felt the bed dip down and jolted in alarm then settled when she heard a confused voice say, “Marie?”

“Did you need something from me, Dorian?” she felt his weight come off the bed a little.

“Ah-” she was glad he couldn’t see her smile and the discomfort in his voice, “I was just… looking for Gabriel. It’s… nothing, really.”

“Dorian,” Gabriel’s voice was delightfully rough, “Just get on the bed. Give me… mmmmm, ten minutes and I can help you.”

“What about Marie?”

“I think Gabriel has too much energy.” Gabriel chuckled at her chagrin.

“You…” Dorian had never sounded more uncertain in all the time Marie had known him, “You don’t mind?”

“Not if you don’t. Now, get on with it so I can have my pillow back.”

~ 

At nineteen years old Marie was sent back to the nuns to learn more about prophecy, while Gabriel stayed at the compound to teach the younger boys. The brotherhood was  trying to convince him to spend more time out in the field but he loved spending time with the boys and rarely left.

At twenty years old, she spent a second year missing her best friend as Gabriel could no longer find an excuse to stay at the compound and the Brotherhood sent him away. She knew he wouldn’t die, not yet, but that didn’t stop the yearning in her heart for the man she had come to love. 

~

It had been two years, three months, three weeks, and four days since Marie had seen Gabriel. She had turned twenty-one a month ago and had not gotten any present she truly wanted from the Brotherhood. All she wanted was for Gabriel to return.

Which is why she was currently sitting in the lowest branches of an ancient oak tree, as one of the benefits of knowing everything was knowing precisely when Gabriel would get home. She could hear the steady hoofbeats of his horse in the background.

She grinned as his horse came into sight, slow and steady through the forest. While she knew he would love to barrel his way through the forest and get home faster, it  wasn’t a sustainable method of travel. Right before he passed the tree she was in, he slowed to a stop.

She giggled and hopped down so that she could land just behind him.

“Hi, Gabriel,” she didn’t even try to keep the hopeless fondness out of her voice.

“Well, who’s this lovely little lady,” he glanced over his shoulder to give her the brightest grin, “Because I’ve heard from some nuns a couple days ride from here that there was a prophetess stirring up trouble there last year.”

“I wouldn’t believe such slanderous lies,” she said, laughing. She had almost got caught in a… compromising position with Sophie and the ladies had been telling the story to everyone trustworthy all year.

After they arrived back at the compound, the boys surrounded Gabriel, begging for stories. Marie left him to his storytelling and didn’t get a chance to talk to him until the sun had gone down.

“Marie?” she was laying in his bed with a book, “I’ve been thinking…” she glanced up at him.

“Dangerous pastime,” she grinned but quickly neutralized her face when she saw the serious look on his face, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve really hated all this time away from you and I found out that I would… Marie, could I please court you?” Marie couldn’t help it when she launched off the bed to latch her arms around his neck in a vice.

“Damn, Gabriel, I thought you would never ask!” She couldn’t stop smiling.

“Well, you’re the one always going on about how you’ll be married one day, and at some point I started getting mad at a man I’d never met, and then I thought that maybe you wouldn’t tell me who you were going to marry because… well, because he was me.”

“Of course it’s you I marry, you imbecile!” She pulled back so she could see his face, “I still expect that you court me properly.” She couldn’t stop smiling, even when he kissed her and she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“So, do you really want me to court you properly or is there something that you’re not telling me?”

“I just wanted to make you wait.”

“How rude.”

Her laughter rang through the entire compound.

~

Gabriel had dealt with many strange situations over the years. As a monster hunter and wrangler of a bunch of orphan boys, weird was a part of his job description. However, he could definitely say that two men appearing out of nowhere during a spar was the weirdest situation he had ever been in.

Gabriel quickly shooed the boys away from the pair. He was training a younger set of boys and they tended to give in to their curiosity more easily than the older boys. (It was usually a trait he admired, except when they decided to ask questions about where babies came from and Gabriel had to find an excuse to be anywhere else.) 

“James, go find one of the older teachers - quickly!” James went running for the main building as Gabriel went to crouch by the pair. The boys whispered and inched closer. Gabriel made a sharp quiet noise and then all stepped back. He went to check the pulse of the first man and only years of training stopped him from jerking back as the man shot up into a sitting position.

The man quickly rolled into a crouch and his eyes darted across the room in a quick, practiced move that Gabriel only saw in soldiers. Then he, strangely enough, glanced down at himself and looked vaguely confused. 

“Where am I?” Then he glanced at the man he had arrived with, “What did you do to him?” The man’s voice was rough, though not unexpectedly so considering the enormous scar bisecting his right eye.

“You’re in the Brotherhood of Light main Compound and he just appeared here like that,” Gabriel said slowly raising his hands to show he was unarmed, “Who are you?” The man glanced around at the young boys behind Gabriel then relaxed.

“My name is Victor. Do you know if he’s okay?” Victor reached for the unconscious man, “I don’t know how to tell if he’ll… survive.”

“Why not, is he not your friend?” Gabriel asked, wondering about Victor’s hesitation over the word ‘survive.’

“Yes but he’s a vampire so God knows if he’ll survive this.” At the word ‘vampire’ Gabriel pulled a small knife out of one of his many pockets, just in case.

“Gabriel, put that away,” came Marie’s voice from the stairs, tone sharp, “We need to help them.” She strode forward then went to kneel by the unconscious man’s head. 

“Who are you?” Victor growled at Marie, who simply looked at him like he was stupid. It took everything in Gabriel to not grin at the expression on her face and the clear shock in Victor’s body language.

“Watch your tone, Victor, and I may answer your questions. Gabriel, your knife.” 

“Marie, it’s naught but a caution - that one there is a vampire and-”

“ _ Away _ , Gabriel,” he sighed but did as she asked. 

“My apologies, good lady,” said Victor after looking between them, “I didn’t mean to offend. It’s been a hard year.” 

“Apologies accepted. My name is Marie and this is Gabriel. I am a prophetess, which is how I know who you are. Roll him over,” She gestured to the vampire and Victor obliged while she pulled out a waterskin. She had Victor sit the man up and put the ‘skin to the vampire’s gray lips. Its eyes shot open and it took the waterskin from Marie’s hands and drank it down.

“Gaghk,” Gabriel had never heard such disgust expressed in one noise, “That is vile, Marie. What is that, pig’s blood?” It had a nice voice, suitable to a warrior. It spoke with the same accent all of the Brotherhood’s orphans had but it’s voice was familiar in a way Gabriel couldn’t place.

“Yes, it is and considering it’s the only option you have, I would stop complaining.”

“Yes ma’am,” the vampire said right before it got to its feet, “I’m guessing you already know everything there is to know about what we’re doing here?” Gabriel couldn’t help but stare at the creature’s eyes. They were an intense black and gold that practically glowed even in the bright room.

“Yes,” Marie said simply in response to the vampire, “He’ll be here in about three days and you should spend that time recovering.” Marie gave it - him a look that Gabriel often saw her use on the younger boys when they tried to get out of bed rest. It was that expression that made him relax fully; it was an expression she used only on those she genuinely cared about. If she truly cared about this vampire, he couldn’t be too bad.

“Ugh,” the vampire complained again, “I’ll be fine - it’s not like I can die.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Victor cut in, “You can’t mean-”

“Yes,” chorused the vampire and Marie at the same time. Then they looked at each other with surprise. The vampire smiled at Marie and waved his hand at her.

“Yes,” said Marie, “He is the one coming here and he’ll be able to take you two home. Do you have a problem with that, Victor?” Gabriel couldn’t be happier that he wasn’t the  one who caused her to use that tone of voice. It usually meant someone was in a lot of trouble.

“Yes! I have no idea who any of you are, except him,” he pointed at the vampire, “and I don’t know if any of you are trustworthy.”

“I’m Trevor,” the vampire said and it was such an ordinary name for such a pretentious looking vampire that Gabriel’s brain stalled for a moment, “But you can call me Alucard. It’s what I go by anyway.” Victor stared at Trevor? Alucard? With a look of shock clear on his face.

“You’re Alucard, the legendary vampire of old? The one who’s supposed to kill that motherfucker?” 

“Last time I saw you interact with him, you seemed pretty okay with his presence,” despite the sly smirk on his face, Alucard seemed genuinely curious about Victor’s frustration.

“I thought I was going to die anyway!” Victor growled out at the vampire, “It’s hard to be afraid of a monster who’s helping you when there’s no way he can stab you in the back the way he has so many of my family.” Victor was on his feet in a flash and he began to pace the room like a caged beast.

“He’s coming here to help, and if you don’t lie to him, you’ll find he’s actually pretty agreeable.”

~ 

Somehow, Gabriel had no idea how, Marie convinced an actual vampire to stay in the compound. Instead of placing the source of the trouble (Marie) in charge of the vampire, they put Gabriel in charge of him. Apparently, this was because Marie is a Prophetess and a Woman and therefore would definitely fall the wiles and seductions of the vampire and Die, leaving them without a prophet. Gabriel personally thought this was bullshit and said as much to the Vampire.

He wasn’t prepared for the chortling that came out of Alucard.

“Me??” he gasped, “Seduce Marie?” Alucard nearly fell out of the bed laughing, “I promise,” he said with an amused grin, “I have no intention or desire to seduce,” he chuckled lightly, “or kill Marie.” 

Gabriel didn’t bring the topic up again. He found himself oddly drawn to Alucard. The vampire was bright and hopeful in a way that baffled Gabriel, especially considering the fact that he seemed jaded as well. 

A few years ago, Marie had told Gabriel about vampires. During one of her stays with the nuns, she had found their collection of lore on magical creatures and wanted to share with Gabriel. They had spent an entire day in the forest with Marie telling him all she could about the creatures, with an emphasis on vampires.

She had mentioned that vampires did not wake up sentient and humanlike - the longer they lived, the more powerful they got and the more human they looked. Only an extremely old and powerful vampire looked mostly human.

Alucard only had a few distinguishing features that placed him as inhuman. Gabriel couldn’t help but wonder exactly how old he was but he didn’t dare ask. Alucard gave him the impression that he could very easily destroy Gabriel in one blow but was too polite to do so. The vampire also kept giving Gabriel weird looks as he interacted with the rest of the compound but he wasn’t about to let some vampire bother him. He had grown up and around these people and if the vampire had a problem with how he treated them, then he could actually say something.

“Thank you, Mr Gabriel!” chorused a group of kids who had stopped Gabriel with some very in depth questions about why books smell good. They each gave him a hug, with  Tommy doing his best to ensure Gabriel had a permanent growth, and then ran off to their next lesson.

“They really love you a lot,” Alucard’s voice sounded distant, almost as if he didn’t mean to speak.

“Yeah?” 

“No- nothing.” From what Victor had told Gabriel earlier, he and Alucard came from a very distant future. Gabriel couldn’t understand why they both seemed to expect… something out of Gabriel, something bad. He couldn’t figure out why - it’s not like they could have met Gabriel in their time. At least, Victor couldn’t have. Alucard might have met him, but he didn’t seem to be waiting for the other shoe to drop the way Victor was.

“Erghk,” Alucard was suddenly on his knees gripping his chest.

“Are you alright?” Gabriel asked, dropping to his knees beside him.

“God, she was right,” Alucard groaned, “I really shouldn’t be walking around.”

“Didn’t you say that you couldn’t die?”

“Yeah, but doesn’t mean I can’t be in pain. I need to do something more… sustainable.” Before Gabriel could ask what that meant, Alucard glowed and turned into a wolf. 

Gabriel blinked.

It wasn’t a very big wolf but any wolf was a surprise considering the fact that Gabriel had been talking to a man.

“I need to find Marie.”

~

According to Marie, Alucard was supposed to be bigger and he had turned into a wolf to conserve power. Apparently, by being a smaller wolf, he could heal faster and tolerate the sun. Marie didn’t seem inclined to share exactly what had happened to the vampire, but Gabriel didn’t mind having a wolf following him around for a little while. 

Victor had spent the entire time in the compound so far locked away in the room they had given him. Which is why Gabriel, with a Hound of Hell on his heels, went to speak to the man.

“Is there a reason you’re isolating yourself?” Gabriel leaned against the doorframe. Victor didn’t have the decency to be startled by Gabriel’s sudden appearance.

“I was supposed to die,” of all the answers Gabriel had anticipated, this one wasn’t on the list.

“Excuse me?”

“I was supposed to die. It’s what I was doing when I arrived here.” Victor didn’t even sound really upset, just a little sad.

“What, dying?” 

“Yes,” Victor sighed, “An ally of mine was in the middle of fixing a problem and I… I was bait. He wasn’t supposed to be kind, to want to help people but while his motives weren’t the best, he was still helping. I figured that if I spent my life to help him protect people, it would be a good way to die. But I didn’t die. Now I’m here, with Trevor, who’s fucking Alucard.” Victor glared at the wolf before running a hand through his hair, “And worst of all, I have no idea why the fuck I’m talking to you. I barely know you!”

“I’ve been told that I’m very approachable,” Gabriel wasn’t expecting the amused snort from the wolf, “I have! The boys here come to me with everything, I can’t imagine why you might think I’m unapproachable.”

“I guess I just expected you to be. You’re famous where I’m from and I guess you never expect legends to be approachable and kind. The texts of the Brotherhood always describe you as moody too, which really doesn’t help.”

“I guess that makes sense - although I can’t say I’m surprised I get famous,” Gabriel gave a faux cocky smirk and winked at Victor.

“Oh, please don’t do that,” Victor groaned with great pain as Gabriel laughed.

~

Gabriel knew the moment  _ He _ arrived. He had been helping some of the younger boys with their sword practice (the Combat Cross was reserved for Gabriel alone, though the Brotherhood never told him why) when it felt as if the sun had gone out. He had always been naturally attuned magic and this magic felt like death and blood and fury. The Brotherhood compound was a naturally Holy place and whatever brought this darkness has long since abandoned God.

Alucard’s head perked up in his wolf form, ears twitching attentively.

“Oh, for the love of God,” Victor growled.

“Whatever that is, it has nothing to do with God.” If Gabriel were a wolf like Alucard, his hackles would be up.

The darkness grew closer and closer until Gabriel felt like he was suffocating with it. Then it dissipated as if it had never been.

Alucard was on his feet, tail… wagging? As he reached the door, a man waltzed in. He wore a red coat that looked like it was trimmed in pure gold. Gabriel had no doubt that it was heavy and expensive. As he walked closer to the man, he couldn’t make out his face. No matter how intensely he stared at the man’s face, he couldn’t make out the  features. It was as if Gabriel’s eyes had simply stopped working and refused to process the man’s features.

The man knelt down before the wolf and took Alucard’s head into his hands, rubbing his cheeks for a moment before pressing his forehead to Alucard’s. Gabriel could hear the low tones of the man’s voice but couldn’t make out what was being said.

As he stood back up, Alucard returned to his human form. When the man reached his feet Alucard was all but clinging to him, holding him tight. There was a desperation between the two of them, a desperation Gabriel only saw in separated lovers or mothers and their children. Alucard was taller and hunched over to get closer to the man, like he was trying to crawl into the man’s skin and live there. In contrast, the man held him lightly, clawed gauntlets rubbing lightly at Alucard’s back and hair. The gentility of the motion was almost terrifying in the face of Alucard’s tight lock.

“Dracula,” Victor grumbled.

“Commander,” ‘Dracula’ rumbled back. His voice was deep, and filled the room without Dracula raising his voice. “It’s time to go home.”

“Why didn’t I die?” Victor sounded furious at the prospect.

“I didn’t want you to,” Dracula stepped away from Alucard and strode into Victor’s space, “and I always get what I want.” The growl caused Gabriel to shiver with fear he hadn’t felt in years, “Now do you want to go home, or not?”

“Yes.” With that Dracula reached out to Victor and when he took the offered hand, they disappeared with Alucard.

“Always the drama queen.”

“Marie?” She stood in the doorway shaking her head in the way she did at the boys when they misbehaved. Gabriel found it difficult to be afraid of the mysterious Dracula when Marie seemed unbothered.

He felt tension he didn’t even know he had fade from his shoulders and he couldn’t help but smile at Marie. 

“So, did you know that was going to happen? This is why you go a reputation as a troublemaker you know. You don’t tell us anything and then suddenly shit like this happen.”

Her laugh was as bright as the sun as she replied, “Well, of course I knew it was going to happen,” she smirked at him, “I know everything.”

“Of course you did.”

~

Marie was twenty-two years old when Gabriel officially proposed to her. She had caught him staring at her with the same intensity he watched a spar. They hadn’t been doing anything important, just sitting in the forest enjoying each other’s company. She’d like to say that it was a beautiful summer day, and Gabriel gave some lovely speech but it had been cold and bitter and she was pressed to him for warmth, rather than just because she wanted to be.

“What are you staring at me for?” She had asked him.

“Be my wife?” The words weren’t soft, nor gentle but they were a question and it was a question Marie had been waiting for her whole life and the fact that he looked shocked at his own question just made the day even better.

“Just name the time and place, my love, and it will be done,” She kissed him lightly.

“Shouldn’t that be your decision?” He had asked with a cheeky grin.

“Now why would I do that? I don’t know the first thing about weddings.”

~

Three months after Gabriel proposed and two months after Marie turned twenty-three, they got married. It was a simple affair but everyone they wanted to attend was there and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Marie had long ago expressed a hatred for long and intensive weddings, because it didn’t take a three hour ceremony to declare love. Gabriel didn’t mind how the wedding went, as long as they were married in the eyes of God and the Brotherhood. 

Marie wore a beautiful yellow sundress that barely hid the fact that she wasn’t wearing any shoes and Gabriel wore the nicest shirt he owned with the buttons opened just a little farther than appropriate so that his chest was showing. The whole ceremony took them less than an hour and that suited them both just fine.

Gabriel picked her up like she weighed nothing at all and carried her to their wedding bed. She had laughed, bright and joyous because when all turned dark and the world fell apart, this would be the Gabriel she had fallen in love with.

The day after they got married, one of the men climbed into the bed beside them and of course they welcomed him, because in the end, one of the things that made Gabriel who he was was his infinite capacity to love and feel passion. 

Their bed usually had more than two people in it and Marie was perfectly okay with that.

~

Marie could hardly believe how fast the years passed until she was twenty-eight years old and Zobek stood before her. She took a moment to  _ know _ , she had to know because this was the man that caused - no, will cause - her husband so much pain and it took everything in her to control the fury that was building up. This is the man who will kill her and destroy her husband’s kindness. Gabriel didn’t deserve this, he would never deserve this and she couldn’t stand it but she had to because God had chosen him.

It may send her directly to hell, but she watched him die in her mind’s eye and took pleasure in it.

Zobek stood before her, but she wasn’t to die yet. He was here simply to spread rumours to the Brotherhood. She had another year before she died, and her heart broke as she realized that she would not see her Gabriel again while she was alive.

“Prophetess, I would speak with you,” Zobek’s voice grated on her ears and she scowled at him.

“A shame, my lord, as I would not speak with you,” She could see his scowl as she turned her back to him and walked away.

“Excuse me!” He called, but she did not listen. She simply began the trek to her office without breaking stride and closed the door in his face when she saw that he had followed her.

She collapsed into her chair, inexplicably tired.

She placed a gentle hand on her stomach.

“Trevor, my dearest, be sure that you never behave in such a boorish manner.”

Zobek stayed with the Brotherhood for two months before leaving without warning. It was around this time that they began insisting that any child she bore would have to be given to them, hidden, blah blah blah. Marie hadn’t been listening. She knew this song and dance well, for all that they had never heard it and she did not want to dance. However, she had no choice. 

In the end, Marie was a slave to fate. Before now she hadn’t struggled to fulfill her own fate. Falling in love with Gabriel was as easy as breathing and there was no one else she would rather be wed to. 

God did not give people perfect sight because God knew that humans would resist their fates or accidentally change them. Marie is the only one to ever see the Truth because God has faith in her. 

Fate is an interesting thing. It doesn’t control a person’s decision, or even predict them. Simply put, God knew humans. God created every human and knows exactly what sort of decisions they would make. Fate, and knowing fate, is simply knowing what God knows. 

And God knows exactly what a person will do when put in the crucible.

Fate does not control a person and prophecy does not force someone to act in a particular way, it simply knows what a person will do regardless of what fate has foretold. Every person sits in their own self-fulfilling prophecy.

Marie did not want to give up her baby. She hated what Gabriel will go through and a part of her wants to scream and yell, fight God because  _ it’s not fair _ ! This man would live in service to God, protect God’s people and live to do nothing but help and love. Yet, God will throw him into agony.

Gabriel would make a wonderful father. He lived for helping the boys in their lessons and he had no fear of intimacy. His kindness and fierce love would give any child the best life possible.

Marie had never felt helpless in the face of fate before, but she wept at what could have been.

~

“Zobek told us-”

“I know,” Marie could only hold her son closer.

“Marie.”

“I know,” she snapped, “Just… give me a moment.” She looked down at the baby she had just bore. She could feel the tears falling down her face as she held him as close as she could, wishing that things could have been different. 

“His name is Trevor.”

When the Brotherhood took her baby away, she could feel the bone deep emptiness of grief fill her mind. Her sorrow filled every pore of her being and crippled her. She could barely breathe through the tightness of her chest, could barely grasp a cup with her shaking hands, could barely live through her broken heart.

She had always known she would have to give him up but nothing could have prepared her for the reality of it.

And now fate wanted to rip her husband away from her too.

~

Marie had spent her whole life looking forward but in the last few days of her life she looked back. Gazed back at the life she had lived, the moment she shared with Gabriel and the boys. Gazed at her son for the few moments she got to hold him. 

She had never really spent a lot of time thinking about what could be, there was no point when she knew how her life was going to go anyway. As the sun set on the last day  she would spend alive, she finally let herself dwell on what ifs.

She did not sleep that night. 

When the new day dawned she could hardly bring herself to stand.

She could not have stopped her son from being born, nor was she truly capable of stopping the Brotherhood from taking him. She would not have dared to try to rid herself of her child - for one there was no one nearby with the appropriate potions, and she could not bear the thought of destroying a life created by herself and Gabriel. She did not blame women who did not want their pregnancies, but Marie could not dream of anything better than to have a child as kind as Gabriel. The idea of aborting the child hadn’t even occurred to her until she was halfway through her pregnancy and by then she already loved her child.

However, she could absolutely choose to simply not get up today, or to run. Zobek would never know where she went and then she would be free of fate’s grasp.

She knew better than anyone that fate is unavoidable. And so she got up, got dressed, and walked towards her own death with grace. 

Unlike Gabriel she did not do this out of the kindness of her heart, or because it was what was best. She did it because she knew she had no other choice - fate  _ knew _ , and fate is unavoidable.

Gabriel is a far better person than she could hope to be and there was nothing more infuriating than know that she was a part of the system that would drive him to apathy.

The last thing she thought before she died was that she couldn’t wait to watch Gabriel kill Zobek.

~

It was hell watching Gabriel lose himself. The man thrived off of love and now that his greatest love had died, he felt that he had nothing. It didn’t help that Zobek’s  intervention drove him into fury and madness. One day the Brotherhood would ignore the claim they had on Dracula’s creation, but right now they were proud to know that the man who killed so many monsters was one of their own. 

She watched him closely in his grief. He loved to intensely and so furiously, it made sense that he would grieve just as powerfully. He barely seemed human with how little he  slept and ate. It should have killed him, but God had different plans. Gabriel was not to die, ever. So many men would kill to live forever, and all Gabriel had to do was exist for eternity to be given to him. 

Gabriel had never wanted to live forever. He had always claimed that the best fate was to die surrounded by love and only those who are dissatisfied with their lives wished to live forever. What hurt Marie the most was the knowledge that all Gabriel wanted in life was to love and be loved. He had never cared for riches and treasure and universal  devotion. He simply wanted love. It was why God chose him. There is no better man to help the whole world than one who loves the world he lives in. 

~

It broke Marie’s heart to revive Gabriel into the world that would forsake him. She only hoped that he wouldn’t blame her for what she had done.

When he kissed her goodbye, she couldn’t help the tears that came.

It was always her fate to look after her boys and so as he strode away, heartbroken with very little humanity left, she went to her son. Gabriel would keep and she did not think she could bear to watch him be in any more pain. She knew she should watch him become Dracula but she had already seen too much pain.

“Hello, Trevor,” her son had gotten so  _ big _ . He was almost a year old now and she could see herself in the curve of his lips and his father in the shape of his jaw. He would grow up to be a handsome young man and she didn’t need to  _ know _ that. 

He babbled a little in his sleep and shifted towards her.

~

Marie got the shock of her unlife when Trevor was five years old and the Brotherhood was pissing her off with their treatment of the kids in their care. They didn’t need to push them like soldiers and Marie couldn’t be more furious at them treating the children like seasoned warriors.

“Why can’t the other boys see you?” He asked one day as he ate lunch. She didn’t reply because he couldn’t possibly be capable of seeing her. She gaped in utter shock when he looked her in the eye, “Is it because you’re dead?”

“To be entirely honest, you shouldn’t be able to see me either. How did you know I’m dead?” She could barely stop her voice from shaking as she spoke to him. She had managed to go her entire life without being surprised once and she was delighted that her son was the first one to do so.

“You’re see-through,” he waved his little hand through her belly as if to make a point and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you know who I am, Trevor?”

“The nice lady who just so happens to be haunting me.” She smiled at his bold statement. Technically, after Gabriel’s intervention, she should have passed into heaven but God had different plans for her. Instead she was to stay on Earth and look after her boys. She thanked God the chance to raise her son, albeit in an indirect way.

“Well, I am that,” she kneels before him and holds out her hand, “but my name is Marie. Marie Belmont.” She could clearly remember the day that he chose the name. Gabriel had wanted to choose a name before they got married so he chose it for ‘the mountains that protect us, and the forest that surrounds us.’ Now Trevor bore the name and loved those mountains just as fiercely. 

“Belmont?” His little forehead wrinkled in confusion, “But that’s my name!”

“So it is,” she smiled at him gently. “That’s because you’re my son.”

“If you’re my mom, then where is my dad?” Marie could feel her heart crack just a little at his innocent question. Gabriel Belmont had died four years ago, and all that was left was Dracula.

“He’s dead too, dearheart.” He didn’t need to know what his father had become just yet.

“Then why can’t I see him too?”

“His ghost does not wander the Earth.” 

“Why not?” 

“That was not the fate God decreed for him.” If his next question wasn’t another variation of ‘why’ Marie would eat her dress.

“Why not?” Despite the morbid topic, Marie couldn’t help but grin at the predictable question.

“I don’t presume to know what God wants from us.”

Marie spent the rest of the day answering her son’s questions and thanking God for giving her a second chance with her son. 

~

As she watched how the Brotherhood raised her son, she couldn’t help the rage that built within her. While they weren’t always the most empathetic group of people, when Marie was growing up they had let the boys be boys. They had let them be foolish and hang off each other and grow fond of each other. Some point after Gabriel’s death they had decided that that made the boys weak.

They disregarded that the best of the best had been allowed to cuddle his friends and be foolish.

Now, they punished the boys for stupidity and weakness. They were only kids and they were paddled for ridiculous infractions. They constantly belittled the boys and had a punishment for any action that was less than perfect.

Trevor learned fast, he was a Belmont after all, but they still expected more from him. He was a Belmont, after all.

“Momma?” He was seven years old and had tears welling up in his eyes but he had already learned not to let them fall.

“Yes, my dearest?” She crouched before him.

“Was this how you and father were raised?”

“No, honey, it wasn’t.” She sat on thin air, crossed her legs and spoke. She told him all about his father - about Gabriel’s kindness, and his desire to hold those he loved and the intensity with which he trained the boys so that they would not die. She told him about a Brotherhood she could be proud of and the kindness that they once showed the  people they were charged with.

~

It broke her heart to see how much like his father Trevor was. Even though he would be punished for expressing his love to those around him, he did so anyway. He hugged the younger boys and put himself in the Brotherhood’s wrath just so they wouldn’t get hurt.

Of course he became the best of the best. She watched him at seven, eight, ten, thirteen, all the way to twenty years old.

At seven, he realized that those who fed and housed him were  _ wrong _ . Fire burned in his eye, but he also knew how to keep  _ quiet. _ She could see the fire light up his soul, even at such a young age. Gabriel had had the very same fire within him, and that fire had now turned into a weapon of hellish proportions. ( _ He didn’t do anything wrong! He’s only four, how  _ dare _ they punish him for  _ crying!)

At eight, he learned the value of laughter. He was a serious child, was forced into that role by the Brotherhood, so she woke him up in the night and had him go out into the middle of the forest she and Gabriel had grown up in. Then, she told him bad jokes and dumb stories until he cried with laughter. ( _ “Mama, why doesn’t the Brotherhood want us to be happy? To laugh?” “Baby, they forgot that being human isn’t a curse.” _ )

At nine, he learned fear. She found felt true fury at Gabriel as demons ran rampant through the countryside and the boys huddle in the bottom of the compound, praying that they would survive. ( _ She couldn’t go yell at Gabriel because he would  _ see _ her and it wasn’t time for that yet, she couldn’t break fate quite yet. _ )

At ten, he broke her heart. A part of him cracked at the Brotherhood’s treatment and for almost an entire year, he became the compliant, obedient angel they wanted him to be and Marie wanted to scream “It’s not fair!.” ( _ She had begged Trevor for months to please, please, my baby, please just smile. They can’t control you, they’re  _ wrong _ , asking questions is what makes us human. And who cares what makes us human, just come back to me, baby, please _ )

A month after his eleventh birthday, he came back to her. He kept his righteous fire but there was an iciness to him now that felt out of place in a boy so young. It was far too close to the cold fury in Gabriel. The first emotion outside of blissful obedience that Trevor had shown in over a month was an icy glare at a trainer when he had insisted that a boy could train with a broken foot. In that moment the coldness of Trevor’s glare had shaken everyone in the room to the core and suddenly Marie could see not only Gabriel in her son, but herself. ( _ Tell him to take another step and his foot won’t be the worst off,  _ Sir.  _ Mother, I’m so sorry I lost myself, I… it just felt easier. _ )

At twelve years old, he proved himself to the Brotherhood and Marie was proud to realize he couldn’t care less about what the Brotherhood thinks of him. (“ _ I can pass whatever test they throw at me, it’s not their opinion that matters.” “You shouldn’t care what anyone thinks, my baby” “I care what you think” _ )

At thirteen, the Brotherhood had him training and he spread mutiny. Not enough to have them going against the Brotherhood, but just enough to have the boys questioning. ( _ What need does a fully grown man have to beat a child? What reason would anyone have to have a nine year old ready to fight? There’s a difference between training to survive, and training to kill. Just take a moment to think about what we’re doing _ .)

At fourteen, he took up to Marie’s favourite hobby and spent hours upon hours in the library, soaking up information like a sponge. ( _ “Why did you spend so much time in the library when you were young, mother?” “I know everything there is to know about what people will do. I wanted to learn about the world.” “And what did you learn about the world?” “That people should read more.” “Okay! Okay! … Which one was your favourite?” _ )

At fifteen years old, the Brotherhood started to push him to marry and Marie found herself having a very familiar conversation.

“Mama?”

“Yes, baby?” At thirteen, calling him that had earned her a grimace. He had long since accepted that she would never stop.

“I…” She had been haunting him for a decade now and she had never seen him look so hesitant, “The Brotherhood wants me to get married but… but I don’t think… I…” he trailed off but Marie knew where he was going.

“No matter how beautiful the woman you marry is, you don’t want to marry someone you don’t know.” He looked at her through his mane of hair.

“No. It’s not that I like men, I don’t, but…”

“Your father was the same way.” His head jerked up in surprise.

“ _ What _ ?”

“He didn’t care about the gender of his lover, but he did care that he loved them.” She had truly never seen her son so utterly shocked before and took a moment to revel in it.

“So… this isn’t weird?” Marie laughs and is delighted to see his hesitant smile.

“It absolutely is. But you’re a Belmont, you’re meant to be different.”

At sixteen, Trevor runs away. Not from Marie, never from Marie. He runs away from the Brotherhood in the most adamant and clear refusal of their desires. He will  _ not _ be their puppet, he will  _ not _ do as they say, and he will  _ not  _ let them abuse him anymore. ( _ “So, where are you going to live?” “I don’t know.” “Just saying, you have to have a roof to sleep under or else you will die once winter comes.” “That would still be a better fate than staying here.” “Oh, honey.” _ )

At seventeen, he joined the army. Marie was forced to watch as her boy was thrust into battle upon battle. She was unsurprised when he rose in the ranks quickly due to his skill and uncanny talent at survival. ( _ “Trevor, duck!” “Thanks, mom.” _ ) This was also the year he met Sypha Belnades, a healer with a sharp wit and quick mind. ( _ “Quite the delightful young lady.” “What are you implying, mother?” _ )

At eighteen, he was facing more politics than Gabriel or Marie ever had to deal with. As a soldier he had to navigate the politics of rank without pissing the wrong person off, as a high ranking soldier he also had to deal with barons and kings, and as a man falling in love with a healer he had to navigate the politics of falling in love. ( _ “Was it like this when you fell in love with my father?” “Like what?” “Like… like you fell into a river and the current is sweeping you away and somehow like you’ve found shelter in a horrible storm at the same time.” “I grew up with your father, I loved him far before I fell in love with him.” “What’s the difference?” “How willing I was to put up with his bullshit.” “Mama!” _ )

At nineteen, he found the courage to marry Sypha and Marie couldn’t be prouder. She was a bit shocked at how quickly their courtship was but considering how long it took her and Gabriel to get married, she really couldn’t judge. She was also astonished at how quickly the woman became pregnant after their marriage. ( _ “You’re only nineteen!” “Nineteen is a perfectly good age to have a child. I’m sure you had me when you were pretty young.” “Trevor, I had you when I was twenty-eight.” “What? Why did you wait so long?” “Why are you rushing?” “We weren’t planning on it just yet!” “Why didn’t you take preventative measures?” “I  _ really _ don’t want to discuss my sex life with you.” “... fair enough.” _ )

At twenty, Trevor came to Marie, terrified.

“I don’t know how to be a dad.” A part of Marie was giggling at his nervous pacing. Another part of her couldn’t help but sympathise.

“Not much you can do about it now, Sypha’s due any minute now.” She really deserved the glare he shot her way but that didn’t stop her from grinning at him. 

“Do you have any advice? You always seem to know the right thing to say.”

“I was never going to be a father.” He made a sound that vaguely resembled a vampire in sunlight.

“Please?” She finally took sympathy on her poor boy.

“I really don’t know, Trevor. I knew I would never get the chance to raise you and your father didn’t know you existed so I honestly have no frame of reference for how you’re feeling right now.” She had never admitted this to him, she realized. It had been a fact to her for her entire life, and Gabriel never knew so it hadn’t really occurred to her to bring it up.

“What?” She could see the shock on his face, plain as day.

“Sit down.” He sat down where he stood, staring at her like someone had put horns on her head. “I forget sometimes that you can’t know what my life was like without me telling you. The bare facts are this: I’m a prophetess, I knew when I would die, and your father never knew I was ever pregnant.”

“Why?” His voice broke in a way it hadn’t since he was thirteen.

“Because that was his fate. As it was mine. If he knew I had died and left you behind, he never would have gone on the quest that saved millions of people from needless suffering. He had a fate, and by the time you were born there was nothing I could do to stop it without risking the wrath of God.”

“Why would you die for some prophecy?” Somehow, in twenty years Marie had never truly infuriated her son and it was clear that she had crossed a line this time, “Why would you leave my father to die and for me to be raised by a bunch of assholes?” His voice was rising steadily until he was practically shouting at her.

“Because I had no choice! I see the true future, not some unclear flash of a self-fulfilling prophecy but a true future. Trevor, I know how you will live and die. I know the actions of every single human in existence and there’s nothing I can do to stop anyone’s fate, no matter how much I want to.” She hated how she sounded like she was about to cry but she  _ needed _ him to understand.

“There’s always a choice!”

“And I had to choose between getting to see Gabriel raise my beautiful boy into the kindest, sweetest boy to ever live or watching people suffer and die because without my death, he would never stop the pain to come. Because without my death, you would be raised by him and you would never have run away and met Sypha, you wouldn’t be fretting over your fathering abilities and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” She could see realization dawning in his eyes and pressed forward, “Fate is not a playground or a storybook. You don’t get to pick the ending, and it’s almost never happy. Tell me, Trevor, would you give up your child right now for a chance for me and Gabriel to raise you? Would you reverse time and risk losing Sypha?”

“I…” A single tear fell down his cheek before he pressed his fists to his eyes in a manner reminiscent of his younger self, “How could you make that choice? How could you simply let fate kill you and father and do nothing? How could you not want to raise me? I couldn’t imagine just giving my baby up.” He wasn’t angry anymore to Marie’s relief. He was just confused and frustrated and her heart broke at the pain in his voice.

“The hardest moment of my life was giving you up. I knew Gabriel would be an excellent father, given the chance and it broke my heart to know he wouldn’t be the one to raise you. It wasn’t my choice. It was never my choice. I don’t pick your fate, I don’t pick your son’s fate. I simply know it, and to go against it would be to destroy time.”

He was so much taller than her it was ridiculous and she honestly had no idea where he got his height because it wasn’t from Gabriel. It didn’t deter her from walking up to  him and pulling his head to her shoulder. He gasped when he realized that she had touched him and she didn’t address it because there were more important things at the moment. As a ghost it shouldn’t have been possible. As a fulcrum of fate itself, God gave her a little leeway.

“My son, you will be an excellent father. Your will love you child unconditionally and you will teach him compassion. You will make mistakes, and I don’t need to know the future to know that. No one is ready to have a child but as long as you love them, you will be fine.”

“Will he be a good man when he grows up?” 

“Yes.”

It was unsettling to know that it was the little baby she gave birth to so many years ago who held her so tightly now, taller than her and certainly stronger, but just as sweet.

“Trevor?”

“Yes, mother?”

“I’m proud of you.”

At twenty years old, Trevor Belmont was terrified of becoming a father. At twenty years old, his wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and Marie loved him the moment she saw him. He had his mother’s firey hair and his father’s lovely hazel eyes.

Trevor made a wonderful father and Marie couldn’t be more proud.

The next six years went by in a whirlwind. Trevor was still a soldier, but after finding out he was raised by the Brotherhood, the army sent him on more specialized missions. Demons ran unchecked through the countryside and Trevor was often the one sent to deal with them. He was happier with this arrangement because it meant he had more downtime with Sypha and Simon. He was furious at Dracula for all of the pain his demons caused.

“How do you know this is Dracula’s fault?” Marie personally knew that Gabriel could stop them if he wanted to, but she also knew that he wasn’t ordering them to attack innocents.

“Well, they’re his demons, aren’t they?” 

“And who told you that?” 

“The Brotherhood. All demons are minions of either Satan or Dracula. Since you told me that Satan got his ass kicked by my father, then the demons must belong to Dracula.”

“Has anyone personally seen Dracula attacking them? Do they take prisoners?” Trevor sighed.

“Why does it sound like you’re defending him?”

“I’m not defending him, I’m just saying it’s odd that no one has ever seen Dracula, and no one can confirm he exists except an old order that abuses children.”

“Is it not Dracula’s fault? Or does he not exist or something?”

“It’s technically his fault, just not directly. He certainly exists. Just… the Brotherhood is going to find you this year and tell you something about Dracula and I need you to know two things.”

“They’re not going to take Sypha and Simon away, are they?” She had never seen true fear in his eyes until that moment.

“No, no, no, you don’t need to worry about that. Just remember that Dracula only exists because of the Brotherhood and the moment they tell you about him, you need to come talk to me.”

“It’s the Brotherhood’s fault that Dracula exists?” Trevor did not sound as surprised as he should have.

“Yes, but I won’t tell you anything about it until they speak to you.”

“Your idea of a history lesson is strange.”

“Hush.”

The Brotherhood came to see Trevor soon after he turned twenty-seven. Simon was barely six years old and the moment he saw the Brotherhood’s men coming, he sent them to the back room so they wouldn’t be seen.

Marie watched on, knowing that she could do nothing for her son’s pain. 

She had watched her son for his entire life. In a way she had spent more time with Trevor than she ever had with Gabriel. She had delighted in his joy, sobbed at his pain, and advised him in his confusion. While she hated to see him anything but happy, she knew that pain is a necessity of life and she had never truly dreaded a moment until now.

“It’s been a while, Mr Belmont,” the brotherhood representative said and Marie had never hated a voice more. “Aren’t you going to invite us in?”

“I left for a reason. For that same reason, you can stay right where you are.” Trevor’s voice was cold and empty as the tundra. While he wouldn’t appreciate the comparison,  Marie couldn’t help but think that in that moment he sounded just like his father at his most furious.

When it mattered the most, Gabriel never burned  _ hot _ . The Void always hurt more.

“We have a request to make of you,” the man said.

“I refuse.”

“Ah-” the tone was high and mocking and Marie wanted to find a knife for the man’s throat, “-but you haven’t even heard it yet.”

“Last time any of you made a request of me, I got the shit beaten out of me for getting wounded- by someone who claimed to be a man of God.” Trevor didn’t have a single inflection in his voice and it shook Marie to the core.

“It concerns Dracula,” the man said and his smile was as slick as oil.

“Amazing, that sounds like something you should take care of.” Whatever they had to say, Marie knew Trevor would take care of it but never because  _ they  _ asked.

“Only one person would be strong enough to kill Dracula.”

“That one person couldn’t care less about the whims of the Brotherhood.”

“Mr Belmont, we need you to kill your father.” And there it was, the one thing she could never tell Trevor.

“My father has been dead for years.” Somehow, his eyes grew ever colder. 

“That was a lie. We-”

“Lies?” Trevor interrupted and Marie smiled coldly. “In your house of God?”

“It was necessary!” The man finally looked desperate. “What child would accept the fact that their father is Dracula?”

“Leave.” Trevor’s voice was as cold as his father’s Void sword and one word had the man scrambling to get out of the doorway faster than Marie had seen anyone move in her life. Once the man couldn’t see him anymore, Trevor stumbled to a chair then slumped into it like a puppet whose strings have been cut. “I… is it true?”

Marie knelt before him. Their family had never been in the habit of prostrating themselves before others, even in Death. The last time Marie had knelt before anyone was to beg God to let her have her child,  _ please _ . Gabriel had only knelt once in his entire life and that was in respect to  _ her _ . Nowadays, hoards of demons knelt before him like a supplication to a God, like he was their saviour and their tormentor. 

Now, Marie knelt before her child. Not like Dracula’s demons, not like Gabriel’s gentle respect, nor her own previous desperation. She did so to look him in the eye as she told him the most horrible and dangerous truth of his existence.

Marie made sure that he looked her in the eye as she answered.“Yes.”

“Why?” Trevor said, desolation in his voice.

“You have a son, you know how reproduction works.”

“I mean why would you marry someone like Dracula?” She had never wanted that fury directed at her, but she had grown up around Gabriel Belmont and Trevor could never match his father’s cold dead fury.

“He wasn’t born a cold blooded killer, Trevor,” Marie told her son gently. “He… he was the kindest and most caring man I have ever met in my entire life. It was the Brotherhood who took that kindness and love and shredded it into pieces so they could have the perfect warrior. Well, now that perfect warrior doesn’t agree with them and so they want him dead because he reacted as a human would.” 

“He’s an undead monster,” Trevor whispered harshly, unwilling to yell in case Sypha came running.

“It was never the vampiric part of him that was dangerous,” she told him as she took a deep, steadying breath. “It was always the human part of him that loved so deeply that it would destroy him. You don’t understand, Trevor, Dracula exists because Gabriel cared. Dracula hates so fiercely it burns him alive, but that same fire is what kept his love alight. The moment your father is truly dead will be the moment he doesn’t care. I didn’t fall in love with a murderous, bloodthirsty vampire, I fell in love with the man who would hold children as they cried and would lay his head in my lap as he told me how terrified he was that those he loved would die, how terrified he was of how  _ he _ would react. Then I died, and he reacted. He didn’t react the same way a vampire would, the way a  _ monster _ would, but the same way Gabriel would.”

“I…” his shoulders hunched, and he seemed to shrink in on himself, “...I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” He looked up at her and his eyes were filled with tears that refused to fall. 

“You are going to play the Brotherhood’s little puppet, go to Dracula’s castle and try to kill your father,” she said as she placed her hand on his face despite her inability to actually touch him. “You will fail,” he recoiled but she pressed on, “but that is your destiny. After that, you can spend the rest of your life helping people as you always wished to. However, you will only be able to do that once you have left Dracula’s castle.”

She let this process for a moment as he took deep, shuddering breaths. There was no doubt in her mind that he would do exactly as he said. In that moment, she wished he was less like her. She wished he had the willpower to deny his fate in the way she couldn’t.

“Trevor, dearest,” she said and he looked up at her. “That’s a problem for another day. You have tonight and tomorrow, but then you will need to leave at dawn. For now you have a wife and son who are extremely confused and love you very much. Now, as your mother, I recommend you spend the time you have here with them.”

“Am I going to die?” 

Marie closed her eyes.

“I don’t know,” she said and they both knew that was a lie. Marie knew everything.

~

She had spent almost three decades watching over Trevor as his guardian angel. She had always planned to walk with him to his death but she hadn’t planned for him to ask her to stay behind.

So she watched over Sypha and Simon instead. Somehow she couldn’t bring herself to argue with Trevor when he gave her that look… It was the same look Gabriel had had on his face when he found out she was dead, and she couldn’t bear to be the cause of that pain.

Sypha didn’t quite understand why Trevor left, but she didn’t question it. He was a soldier and she was a healer, they both had erratic schedules that couldn’t always be explained. She knew it was different this time, but Sypha still acquiesced as it was preferable that one of them stay behind and protect Simon.

When the monsters came, Sypha took Simon and ran, pulling a sword that Marie had somehow never seen before from the ceiling. She had never seen Sypha fight before but the woman fought the way every healer did - with surgical precision and ruthless brutality. However, no amount of skill or ferocity could face down the numbers Sypha faced. These monsters were fueled and driven by Dracula’s rage and grief. If there was one thing more powerful than a parent’s protective fear, it was the fury of a parent who has failed to protect their child. Gabriel rarely raged quietly, but now Dracula had the power and numbers to wage a war against the entire world and he certainly had the incentive.

Marie almost wished she could muster up sympathy for the Brotherhood. While she was furious at Gabriel for killing those who could not defend themselves, in the end it was the Brotherhood who killed them both.

Simon ran at the urging of his mother and Sypha stood before the oncoming hordes, alone.

Marie wished, not for the first time, that she could somehow touch the living world, wished that she could protect her son’s chosen but, as per usual, she could not do  _ anything _ .

~

Simon couldn’t see or hear her the way Trevor could and it made it  _ very _ irritating to watch over him. She couldn’t go back to Trevor until he woke up and Gabriel just thought she was a figment of his imagination, so Simon was really her only choice. As she watched him grow up, she was struck by how much he was like Gabriel. Trevor had been like Gabriel in all the best ways - he loved deeply, and wanted to help people. Somehow he had escaped Gabriel’s dangerous temper. Simon had all of Gabriel’s temper but none of his temperance. Even from a young age he trained and trained and trained. She was thankful for the people he ended up with as they prevented him from running off to kill Dracula at ten years old. 

She kind of wished that they were in the future with child psychologists as he very clearly had some deep trauma from losing both his parents at the same time, and there wasn’t a lot that Marie could do for it. Instead all she could do was watch as his rage burned higher and higher. At this rate, any revenge he got would be insignificant in the face of years of fury.

She was pleased to see that he still treated everyone well. When Gabriel had become Dracula, he had become apathetic to the plight of others and had distanced himself. She had been afraid that Simon would be the same way. Instead, he did all he could to help people but found it hard to control the explosive temper that he came by all too honestly. 

She believed that he could do well with being put in charge of a bunch of kids, but it’s not like anyone could hear her suggestions.

By the time Simon was ready to face Dracula, he was a terrifying fighter, but he lacked the control that his father and grandfather had. He lacked the discipline and relied on battle rage to get him through a fight. If not for Trevor, it would have been his downfall.

When Simon reached the town before Dracula’s castle, Marie went ahead to the castle itself. She wanted to see what sort of dangers he would face before fighting Gabriel. 

Instead, she found a ghost.

“Who are you?” The voice was quiet and familiar.

“I’m Marie,” she knelt before the ghost, a barely visible young woman, “What are you doing in Dracula’s castle?” 

“I…” Marie had seen this confusion on ghosts before. They constantly struggled to remember who they were or how they died, and it often lead to many ghosts having an aggressive reaction to their own confusion. Dying is traumatic and there’s nothing more frustrating than having triggers with no idea of what might cause them. “I think I’m looking for someone.” Like many ghosts ,she grew stronger at a sense of purpose. The ghost looked up and Marie felt her heart break.

“Is his name Simon?” Sypha gasps with joy and nods.

“Yes!” Marie could almost feel Holy Magic imbue her with purpose and Marie didn’t know how she missed it before - Sypha would protect Simon during his fight. Marie knew how the fight would end but, to be entirely honest, she often didn’t watch fights. A fight as emotionally charged as this one grated on her nerves - she loathed to watch people she loved so dearly fight each other with deadly intent.

She reached her hand out to Sypha. 

“Let me help you protect him.”

~

Simon truly was a testament to his father. He barreled through the castle with ferocious skill, holding no mercy for those that would attack him.

When Marie first saw Trevor, she thought that she might have been heartbroken but instead found that she was proud. Despite being disoriented and ravenous, he put the needs of his son first. She had seen vampires do much worse - some couldn’t recognize lifelong lovers and yet her precious baby could still see his little boy in this grown man.

She still refused to watch them fight, and so she waited outside the castle.

Simon left first, bloody and bruised but still standing. Sypha stood guard over him and Marie knew she had a kindred spirit. 

Trevor was next.

“Are you not going with Simon, mother?” Trever - now called Alucard by his father, the utter drama queen - asked her.

“He doesn’t need me.” Trevor stood facing away from her, towards the direction that Simon had left.

“I’m a grown…” His breath hitched as the matter of his ‘life’ still hadn’t sunk in. “I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

“And yet, you still wish for me to be here with you.” Trevor finally looked at her and fuck, it would take time to get used to his new eyes, “Besides, Simon can’t see me. I can’t  help him. I can, however, stand by my son during a difficult time.”

“What do I do now?” Trevor growled and Marie could see his father’s temper come forth.

“Protect,” Marie answered simply.

“What?” He asked incredulously. “How? I’m a vampire - I’m no longer human, I can’t exactly blend in. I can’t lead people to success, I can’t protect them.” His shoulders drooped and he dropped her gaze once more.

“Self-hatred and pity guilt don’t suit you,” she scolded and his head snapped up to look at her. “You don’t have to save the whole world, Trevor, you can just save one person at a time. You may not be human anymore, but you were once and there is absolutely nothing stopping you from hunting those who would hurt others. You don’t have to let your vampirism define what kind of monster you are. You can instead make certain that your humanity defines what kind of person you are.”

~

It was official. Trevor needed friends.

Marie could not believe that her son had such a hang up on being ‘inhuman’ and ‘a bloodthirsty monster’ when he spent a large part of his life with a ghost.

She couldn’t fault him for not wanting to eat humans though as she found the idea distasteful herself. However, he couldn’t just sustain off of  _ nothing _ , he was the son of Dracula and he help so much if he simply ate more. 

She watched him get thrown into a tree by a monster four times his size and sighed as he pulled himself immediately back up and pulled out Igneas. It had been almost fifty years since he had been turned into a Vampire and he had forged Glaciem and Igneas before year ten and Marie had to admit that the blades were beautiful and extremely effective. 

Only four hundred and fifty years until the Brotherhood launches an attack on Dracula’s castle. Only nine hundred and fifty until her boys finally pull their heads out of their asses.

~

Marie couldn’t help but laugh as the little girl latched herself to Trevor’s legs. The poor girl was an orphan Marie  _ knew _ , and Trevor had just saved her life. An older vampire, not quite perfectly humanoid, had thought she would be an easy meal and hadn’t expected anyone to be around to defend her.

The girl clung to Trevor’s leg like a lifeline and began to sob.

Well, Trevor had been a father and those sort of instincts didn’t just fade.

He picked the girl up and held her close. At first he tried to hold back but his own desire for human contact overrode his caution and his grip on her tightened. Marie could see him rock back and forth, shushing her in the way he had when Simon was little. She slowly calmed down before pulling back to look at her savior. 

“Hello there,” Trevor said as he gave her a soft smile. “Where are your parents?”

“Gone.” The girl sounded devastated and Marie watched Trevor’s heart break.

“Gone where, sweetheart?”

“I don’t know,” she wailed, “but they aren’t coming back.” She burst into tears anew and Trevor held her close once more, waiting out her pain in the way only a parent could.

When Marie had told Trevor that he needed friends, she meant adults. However, watching him hold this child, she knew that he needs more than just a friend - he needs  family. 

He could have worse things than a daughter.

~

Her name was Bethany and she didn’t call Trevor father - he wouldn’t let her - but she certainly saw him as such. 

Trevor didn’t know what to do with a girl child up until the point where Marie slapped him upside the head - hand flowing through his skull instead of making contact - and told him to treat her the way he would have Simon.

So he did, training her to fight and question and run.

By the time she’s twelve years old she knows the bible cover to cover. Even more importantly, considering Trevor’s occupation, she can recite the Bestiary by rote. Marie is quite curious to see when she’ll realize that the man who is raising her isn’t exactly human anymore.

“Ah, Trevor?” Bethany stood at the door to Trevor’s room at the Inn they were staying at. She looked nervous and alarmed but only to someone who knew her well.

“Yes?” Trevor looked up at her from where he was sharpening his sword and his nostrils flared. His eyes widened a fraction and he looked over her closely, “Is something wrong?”

“I’m bleeding,” she clenched her hands, “and it’s concerning because I’m bleeding… ah-” Marie and Trevor realized her problem simultaneously.

“Oh!” Trevor blushed fiercely, “Ah- uh- um-” Marie giggled at the way he stammered before collecting himself. “You don’t need to be concerned, it’s perfectly natural. That being said,” he grimaced, “I don’t know anything about it.”

“How can you know that I’m not dying if you don’t know anything about it?” Bethany’s voice raised in alarm.

“God,” Trevor sighed.

“Taking God’s name in vain is a sin, Trevor,” Marie added helpfully. Trevor ignored her as he stood up and put a hand on Bethany’s shoulder and guided her to the bed.

“Sit here, and I’ll be right back. You aren’t dying.” Despite her fear, Bethany trusted Trevor, so she nodded and watched him go without fuss. 

~

Rosemary was heading home after work when an unfamiliar man approached her. 

“Excuse me.” God she hated the polite ones as they tended to be the greatest assholes. “May I have a moment?” She sighed and turned to look at him. He wore a cloak despite the warm day and his head was ducked down. Whoever he was, he didn’t want to be recognized.

“My time costs money,” she growled at him, “and right now I’m not selling.”

“I just need someone who can explain something.”

“No one pays for me to explain things, honey,” Rosemary had been a prostitute for most of her life and no one just wants to chat.

“Well, I’m hoping I can pay a woman to explain menstruation to my daughter. I thought that might be you.” 

“Ah,” Rosemary looked more closely at him. He was hunched, body language… submissive, but not like a human. He moved like a wolf. He was a predator, but she knew when people were lying. “Her mother not available, then?”

“Dead.”

Rosemary has been a prostitute for many years but that didn’t mean she wasn’t weak for people who needed help.

She did as he asked and the girl took it in stride. The true surprise was the fact that the man stayed the entire time, listening intently for all that his face was bright red the entire time she spoke.

She wasn’t too fond of men, especially not the polite ones, but this one was okay.

~

Bethany was fourteen when she finally realized Trevor wasn’t human, and it took her another month to realize that he was a vampire specifically. It took her another four months to actually confront him about it.

“So… Trevor.” He looked up, a bland polite expression on his face.

“You know, every time you use that particular tone of voice I regret asking you what you need.”

“I just have a quick question!” She crossed her arms, the uncrossed them again. Her fidgeting was obvious to both Marie and Trevor, no matter how much Bethany would argue otherwise.

“Ask away,” he sighed.

“I was just, well, wondering if you were ever going to tell me that you’re a vampire.”

“I believed you would figure it out yourself eventually,” Trevor said.

“Ah,” Bethany nodded sagely before bursting out, “You don’t want to eat me, do you?”

At this Trevor recoiled, shock lining every inch of his body. “Absolutely not! What would make you think that?”

“Uh,  _ vampire _ .”

“Why would I put years of work and dedication into raising a child just to  _ eat them _ ? That just seems like a waste of time and effort. Besides, I tend to avoid eating humans,” Trevor told her and Bethany visibly relaxed.

“Okay, glad we had this talk. I’m just gonna go… sharpen my sword.” She took off quickly.

“Does she really need to sharpen her sword?” Trevor looked at Marie.

“No, she nervously sharpened it about four times before coming in here,” Marie gave him her best ‘trouble-maker’ smile, “and if she does so again, she’s going to destroy it.”

Trevor just sighed.

~

Watching Trevor raise Bethany made Marie’s heart  _ ache _ . Watching him raise Simon had hurt too, but this was worse. He emulated everything that Marie knew would lead to Gabriel being an excellent father. Bethany got a chance to rise into bright fire and Trevor clearly love her deeply. It was a shame that Trevor would always outlive her.

After Bethany got older, Trevor intentionally started to distance himself from her. Especially when she caught the eye of a local baron and found herself falling for him as well.

“Why not just stay with her?”

“Because,” Trevor sighed, “if I stay I risk William believing that I’m a lover or boyfriend, and…” Trevor’s gaze dropped to the ground, “...maybe if I distance her now, it’ll hurt less when she dies.”

Marie would love to tell him that of course Bethany finds some secret to immortality but instead she  _ knows _ that Bethany will die in bed with an illness that will one day be preventable. She  _ knows _ Bethany will die before she’s thirty.

Trevor has no reason to believe that she will live beyond sixty.

Marie says nothing and gives him his distance.

~

Bethany gets married, spends a few years fighting monsters with her husband’s blessing (see: threat of great damage to the man’s favorite body parts if he tries to tie her down), gives birth to a pair of beautiful twins, and promptly dies two years later.

Trevor sleeps for four years. Then he drags himself out of the pond he’d decided to sleep in and goes to his son-in-law.

“William of Mooreland?” Trevor knows he looks suspicious, with his long cloak and hood up in the middle of the day but honestly he couldn’t care less.

“Considering my maid let you into the room, I’m sure you already know you’re in the right place.” Trevor couldn’t find it in himself to be offended by the man’s bluntness.

“My name is Trevor Belmont. I knew your wife.” William pulled himself up from his chair to face Trevor on fully. He was just a few inches shorter than Trevor.

“I know of Belmonts. I also know of a Trevor my wife knew. I never knew the two were related.” William’s voice barely changed in tone, as if he had lost all desire to express any emotion. Trevor remembered watching him court Bethany from afar and the entire time William had been an exceptionally boisterous man. Trevor couldn’t blame him for his apathetic tone, however, when Trevor himself had chosen to sleep rather than grieve.

“I raised Bethany, however I don’t generally interact with the main Belmont family,” Trevor informed the man.

William took a moment to look at Trevor with a piercing expression.

“I assume you’re here to spend time with my children?”

“If you permit me.”

“And if I don’t?”

Trevor smiled and pushed his hood down. He could practically hear his mother’s voice in his ears -  _ “drama queen, just like your father.” _

“I won’t force my way into your home, William. However, I raised your wife and I would love a hand in raising your kids.” Trevor took a careful step towards William. 

“Besides, I will outlive you,” Trevor gave him just a slight predatory smile, “and I will see them eventually with or without your consent.”

Suffice to say, he got to see the kids.

Trevor had only met them once, when they were just a day old and had gone on a trip to Thailand to follow rumours of an unknown monster soon after. He had intended to  be gone for a few months but the situation had gotten complicated forcing Trevor to stay a  _ lot _ longer than intended and by the time he got back, Bethany had been dead for a week.

That being said, she had waited three days to name her children and thus he wasn’t prepared to hear that she had named her son after  _ him. _

Gabriella and Trevor.

He knelt before his… his grandchildren. He didn’t introduce himself as their grandfather and for now he could simply be their errant uncle. He would take anything to spend time with them.

Before he left William handed him a letter and Trevor opened it three days later.

~

_ My dearest Trevor, _

_ I know we don’t usually letters, but I am dying. I would rather not leave you in this world without letting you know how much I love you. I also don’t want you to believe that I ever blamed you for not being here. I left my husband for months at a time to chase monsters, I can hardly blame you for leaving your fully grown daughter on her own. You told me you would be back as soon as possible but we both know you draw in trouble like no other. _

_ I hope you’re safe. _

_ I am sorry that I never got to introduce my children to properly. I struggled with the names for weeks. Well, one of them. I knew immediately that I wanted to name my son after you - a piece of my father to carry with me, always. I struggled with Gabriella. A part of me wished to call her Marie. Another part of me wanted to call her Sypha. _

_ Marie felt… wrong. I named Trevor to honor you and carry you with me, but you still carry Marie with you and I couldn’t take that from you and I - _

_ Sypha didn’t fit either. Plus my husband wanted a more ‘normal’ name for our child.  _

_ After he vetoed that, I thought of Gabriella. You spent quite a lot of time telling me about your father and how the world damned him. About how you wanted so desperately to know him but never got the chance. I named Trevor for me. I named little Gabbie for you. Now I don’t know if she’ll be anything like her namesake, but I sure hope she’ll be like you. _

_ I’m dying. I won’t have the chance to raise my kids now. Please, teach my children to be kind and fierce in equal measure. Teach them what they need to know to survive and how to apply it. Most of all, love them. _

_ I love you so much. Thank you so much for raising me. For caring. _

_ Without you I would have died on the street. By the grace of God, I was saved by you. _

_ Yours, in deepest regret and love, _

_ Bethany of Mooreland, Daughter of Trevor (Alucard) Belmont _

~

So Trevor looked after them. Their father didn’t like him much, but he didn’t forbid Trevor from visiting so he didn’t care much about the man’s opinions of him.

Trevor spent the next four hundred years looking after the family, which had grown to a ridiculous extent. He didn’t know how the Belmont family always remained linear, one son after another but the Mooreland family bred like rabbits and somehow Trevor fit in like a weird uncle. They didn’t really question his presence or immortality, so he stayed right up until he heard rumours of the Brotherhood launching an attack on Dracula’s castle.

“What did you just say?” Trevor sat in the manor during the family’s annual gathering. It was late at night, with all but the oldest of the children in bed. For over one hundred and fifty years now, Trevor had had a designated chair that sat right next to the fireplace. One of the children had noticed the way his skin never seemed to warm up and suggested that he have a permanent chair by the fireplace so that he never got cold again.

So now he sat in aforementioned chair with a glass of red wine, ‘living up to the stereotype’ as Marie said.

“The Brotherhood of Light is currently recruiting temporary soldiers,” James’ eyes lit up at the idea of the glory of battle.

“Mercenaries,” Liam spat out, “Temporary soldiers aren’t a thing, what they want is mercenaries. Or else they want cannon fodder, which is worse if you ask me.”

“What for?” Trevor asked simply, ignoring their bickering.

“I heard they want to fight Dracula. It’s their big slogan - ‘come help kill the king of monsters’ or something like that,” James took a large gulp of wine, “and if I can get a chance to go fight monsters, sign me up.”

“James.”

“You fight monsters, Uncle Trevor, it’s not like you can judge me!” James shrunk away from Trevor’s piercing stare.

“I don’t fight monsters for glory,” Trevor glared at James, “I fight monsters to prevent people from dying. Glory is an idiotic reason to fight monsters and it will get you killed.”

“Yeah, right,” grumbled James.

Trevor sighed. While he loved all the Moorelands (with the exception of Eric from two generations ago who decided rape was fun), he also knew he could not convince James to change his mind. Those who got set on glory could rarely be turned from their path.

After the party ended, Trevor got to work.

In less than a month he had infiltrated into the Brotherhood. It would have taken less time but he had first gone to Norway to retrieve the Crissaegrim. 

In less than two years the Brotherhood was to lay siege upon Dracula’s castle. 

_ Finally _ .

~

Trevor hadn’t just spent the last few centuries looking after the Moorelands. While he loved them, he was a servant of humanity first. From Marie he had learned that there was a way that he could kill Satan forever, but she had refused to give him details. So he had spent the last four hundred years figuring out the precise details of killing the most powerful creature in Hell.

The thing about killing a powerful demon of hell is that the one thing that can kill said powerful creature is a more powerful creature of Hell. That leaves the question of how the _fuck_ does one convince Dracula to help the very same humans that killed him and drove him away?

Honestly, at this point, he was riding on his mother’s stories about his father being a good person once upon a time and valuing honesty. 

The only things that Trevor had been waiting for was a way into the castle and a way to put his father into a good mood. 

The Brotherhood would find their way into the castle for him, and getting a chance to murder several thousand people would definitely put Dracula in a good mood. 

~

In the end, James didn’t listen to him and went to fight anyway. It had ended in a screaming argument between them in the middle of dinner one night. However Trevor refused to force them to do, or not do, anything. Thus, a year before the siege, James joined with the Brotherhood.

“Is there anything you can do for him, Trevor?” Trevor glanced up from his pack, which was half filled with everything and anything he could need for travel (and considering he was a vampire that wasn’t a lot). Elizabeth and Timothy, James’ parents, stood in the doorway.

“I’m sorry, my loves.” the pet name Trevor gave all of ‘his’ kids slipped out without his permission and he saw the devastation on Elizabeth’s face when she heard it. Generally he stopped calling them ‘love’ when they got older. He hadn’t even called James such in over five years. “I have an extremely important mission and,” he couldn’t meet their eyes, “I can’t save people who don’t want my help.”

“If you have the chance,” Timothy cleared his throat, “could you do  _ something _ ?”

“If I have the chance.”

Trevor made no promises though.

~

In the wreckage of battle, the dragon stood above all else. Trevor had tried to offer the Brotherhood some advice on how to handle Dracula, but they had dismissed him. Holy magic had made the situation significantly worse and Trevor couldn’t find it in himself to be even a little surprised.

“Trevor?” His father’s voice was unreadable and Trevor knew that he looked… terrible. While his human family never saw it, a vampire should not have a concave stomach nor should their muscles be so defined. The only reason his starvation hadn’t killed him was because he was the son of Dracula and God wanted to ensure that Dracula’s line would live to see the end of Satan.

“Trevor died a long time ago, father,” To monsters, he could not be Trevor Belmont. He had to be Alucard, to ensure that they knew it was Dracula’s son that came after them and to absolve the Belmont family line of his crimes against inhumanity. “You made me what I am. I stand here before you, reborn, a vampire. I am Alucard.” He didn’t intend for it to come out so dramatic, but his father had to understand that he wasn’t here as Gabriel’s son, but as Dracula’s.

“Why are you here?” Dracula tossed him the glowing cross and Alucard caught it easily. “You know better than anyone, I cannot die. My immortality runs through your veins too.” 

“Of course, only my father,” and it hurt so much to throw this in his face but he knew that he could not give his father what he truly sought, “Gabriel Belmont can destroy Dracula.”

“It is too late for me.” Dracula did not sound upset at his damnation and Trevor ached to hear it. He dropped the cross to the ground.

“How can you be so sure?” If his father did not believe himself capable of goodness, then he would not be able to get his help. If his father couldn’t help him, then all would be lost.

“The roots of evil are deep,” Trevor suddenly realized where he got his penchant for dramatics as his father walked over to the corpse of a Knight. “Irreversibly so in the hearts of men. It is their true nature,” Dracula grabbed the cross and looked at it apathetically, “their destiny.” His face contorted in rage. “I was their most devoted warrior, a champion of light but I fell,” it was a curious thing to see how easily his mood shifts, “fell into darkness and now I am feared as the  _ prince _ of darkness. Ironic don’t you think?” The smirk he gave Alucard was suddenly reminiscent of Marie when the Brotherhood had first told Trevor about Dracula. On Marie it held scorn, on Dracula it held self-loathing and pride. “The mighty Zobek hides from me like the scared rat he is. Even Satan himself is too afraid to leave the pits of hell and fight me - but if I die now,  _ Alucard _ ,” his voice held more scorn in it than Alucard had ever heard and hearing his name said in the same tone that his father had used for Zobek and Satan ripped his heart apart, “they will simply take my place. Evil will prevail. It is the natural order. The world is like this,” Dracula snapped the cross in half and Alucard knew in that moment that Dracula’s fury and scorn was not directed at Alucard specifically. He had simply lost all belief in the goodness of the world. 

“Abandon. All. Hope.”

“No.” Alucard pushed aside his hurt at his father’s scorn and pressed on. He had lived in this world for centuries and he understood with great clarity now that with an infinite capacity for cruelty also came an infinite capacity for kindness. He had been watching humans for his entire life and as long as they lived, he could not give up hope. “What if there was a way to destroy their evil forever, to free mankind from tyranny?” His father began to stride away and Alucard couldn’t give up his chance. “If they believe you  dead,” Dracula hesitated, “they would come out into the light once more, would they not?”

Dracula turned towards him once more and Alucard could see that glint of hope.

“This,” Alucard continued, pulling out his blade, “is the Crissaegrim.” He told his father the story behind it and it’s abilities and he watched Dracula’s eyes sweep over the weapon approvingly. As he continued explaining his plan, his father approached him. He could see Dracula’s delight in a well thought out plan. It was odd to see such an expression on his face, considering Alucard usually saw it on Marie. He hadn’t realized until now exactly how alike they could be.

He couldn’t help the bone deep sorrow he felt at his father’s thirst for death. No man should be in so much pain as to wish for a painful death. As he spoke, however, he could see his father considering his idea. 

“You’re asking me,” the scorn was back but Alucard could not back down now, “to save the world from Satan. Again. To sacrifice everything for humanity. Again!”

“Yes, I am!” Alucard was not going to dance around the truth. He knew what he asked and he knew what pain it would cause. “Within this last moment you will hold both Zobek and Satan in your grasp.” 

He watched as his father dug his own nails into his hand and began to bleed. When he looked back up at Alucard, he knew he had won.

“Then do it,” Alucard drew his blade quickly, “push that damn sword into my heart before. I change. My mind.” He couldn’t say he expected his father to practically walk onto the blade unassisted but that’s what Dracula did. 

As he gave the trigger for Dracula’s recognition, he couldn’t help but think that it’s a good thing that his father knew himself to be moody and erratic. 

Now, he has five hundred years to plan.

~

He spends three days at Dracula’s castle. In the past five hundred years, he has spent the equivalent of one hundred years in the castle. Never all at once, but he has spent a great deal of time ensuring that he will never get lost in the castle. The first time he realized he could change the formation of the castle with his mind had startled him but he has now long since grown used to it.

It takes three days to search the entirety of the castle. Despite his disagreement with James, he refuses to leave him to die in the castle alone. He finds more corpses than he’s seen in his entire life, but no sign that there’s anyone still truly alive.

That is until he reaches a barricade that has exhausted voices pouring from it. If they were trying to keep quiet, they were failing miserably. 

He moves the castle back into place to reveal James and three strange men. They all stare at him for a moment before the strangers all pull out their swords. Trevor sighs. 

They’re only boys and they don’t know quite how to handle a sword properly.

James doesn’t draw his sword. Instead he just stares dumbly at Trevor.

“Don’t move, monster!” The bravest of them yells.

“Wait!” James puts his hand on the man’s wrist and Trevor narrows his eyes at the intimate placement. Even as the man lowers his sword in confusion, James does not remove his hand. “Are you not… human?”

Trevor loves James, he really does but the man can sometimes be extremely stupid. 

“What was your first hint?” Trevor rolls his eyes.

“Uh,” James stammered, “I honestly kind of expected you to deny it?”

“James Elias Mooreland, I have known your family for four hundred years and most of your family is actually pretty smart. A sixty year old is bound to realize that their weird cousin hasn’t changed at all physically in the last forty years.” James’ eyes are wide.

“Ah.”

“Wait a second,” the man holding James’ hand says, “James, you know this… beast.”

“Yeah,” James says matter of factly, “That’s my… uncle? Trevor.”

“You don’t sound so sure about that,” James’s friend-maybe-lover said.

“Yeah, well I didn’t realize he’s at least a hundred years old! Wait-” James looks at Trevor “-how old are you?”

“Five hundred. Give or take a few years,” Trevor informed them.

“ _ What _ .”

“Are we killing him or not?” One of the younger boys pipes up.

“No!” James sounds indignant. “We’re not killing my sort-of uncle!”

“Technically I’m your great-great-great grandfather,” Trevor added cheerily.

“Not helping!”

After deciding not to attempt and kill Trevor, they introduce themselves and let Trevor guide them home. They had suspected they might be the only ones left alive but the reality hit them hard.

“Uncle Trevor?” James sounded small, like a child afraid of the dark.

“Yes?”

“How did you survive this? How did we?”

“I survived because I’m a vampire,” Trevor told them. “You survived because you were nowhere near the epicenter and had a great many heavy rocks between you.” James nodded, clearly not comprehending anything except ‘there’s a reason.’

“If you survived because you’re a vampire, does that mean Dracula survived this too?” Trevor found himself liking Jonathan, James’ presumed lover. He had some sense. However, Trevor needed a believable lie.

“Dracula will no longer be an issue. This is what happens when a great deal of power no longer has anything to contain it.” It was technically the truth. The only lie was how intentional the explosion had been. Generally things as powerful as Dracula lose a great deal of power before they can die which leads to their body turning to ash in death rather than destroying everything surrounding them. No, this explosion was caused by Dracula intentionally overloading a holy object with light magic. However, the boys would believe that Dracula dying caused an explosion, and would now tell everyone that Dracula is dead.

They accept his explanation and follow Trevor home.

~

“So,” Trevor leans on the door to James’ bedroom. The poor boy had been home for a month and is clearly suffering from what will one day be known as PTSD. “Are you going to introduce your young man to your parents?” James head jerked up from his journal.

“What?” James’ eyes were the size of saucers. “I-I don’t have a, a a… what are you trying to imply, Uncle?”

“Jonathan?” Trevor gave him a pointed look.

“There’s nothing going on between Jon and I! I don’t like men, that would be wrong!” 

“James,” Trevor said placatingly, “there’s nothing wrong with liking men. My own father was particularly fond of them.” Trevor didn’t realize that James’s eyes could even get wider.

“What?”

Trevor walked into the room and gestured for James to sit on the bed. When James just hovered awkwardly instead, Trevor gently pushed him down to sit nervously on the edge. Trevor joined him, sitting upright on the headboard and pulling James to rest under his arm like a child. If Trevor had tried this a year ago, James would never have allowed it. Now he curls up into Trevor like it’s the only thing keeping him whole.

Then Trevor tells him a story. It’s been almost two centuries since a Mooreland knew anywhere near the whole story, but he finds himself telling James most of it. He leaves out certain details like Gabriel being Dracula and the fact that Dracula is still alive, but tells James about his own fears, his own pain of growing up without his parents. He tells James about being terrified to have a son, and how many years later got his own daughter. It takes hours and the entire time James gazes up at him, childlike and fascinated.

“Uncle Trevor?” 

“Yes, James?”

“I love you, and I’m sorry.”

“I love you too. Now, why are you sorry?”

“You tried so hard to prevent me from fighting and I didn’t listen. You only wanted to protect me and I-” James sounds close to sobbing and Trevor shushes him softly.

“We cannot change the past, love, we can only hope for a better future.”

~

After James and Jonathan die, Trevor tries to distance himself from humanity again. He makes it five years before his mother yells at him for being moody and practically  throws him back into Mooreland Manor. Over the next five hundred years, he sits back and watches the family grow while also visiting the Belmont family. Unlike the Moorelands, he avoids direct contact with the Belmonts. While he would love to watch his blood thrive and grow, they also tend to react badly when faced with a vampire.

The remnants of the Brotherhood still have control over the Belmont family and they still shouldn’t have custody of children. However, they have stopped beating them for their wrongdoings, which is progress. 

Who was he kidding, they still had no idea what love is and about two hundred years in he can’t stand watching them destroy his family anymore.

So, he kidnaps a baby. It was surprisingly easy to do.

Annabeth, James’s niece, takes Trevor showing up with a baby in stride, all things considered. 

“So, do you want to tell me why you have a six month old?” Annabeth had already tried to convince him to let go of Justice but he refused.

“Justice is the youngest Belmont.” 

“Oh christ, Trevor.”

The Brotherhood went into an uproar about the kidnapped child. They sent people far and wide to find the child, hoping for some hint of where he might be. When they came knocking at the Mooreland’s door they placed Justice with Annabeth’s youngest and claimed they were twins. 

“Not to be… insensitive,” says Kara, “but, if the only thing they care about is preserving the Belmont line, why not just have what’s his name father another child?”

“Because the Brotherhood is stupid,” Trevor says bluntly, “and they sent Leon out on a mission and he died. They have no Belmonts to father children.” 

“And his mother?”

“I walked in, she asked if I was Alucard and when I said yes she told me to look after him.” 

Elizabeth laughed. “She just handed you a baby?”

“Yes,” Trevor smiled at her.

“Well then. I guess we’ll just have to be his family.”

“I guess we will.”

~

Trevor spends the next two and a half centuries with his family of blood and family of choice. A month before Donna Belmont is due to give birth, Marie tells Trevor it’s time to start preparing for Dracula to return. 

Twenty years later he explains everything to Victor Belmont.

Twenty years after that, the world goes to Hell and it’s time to wake Dracula up.

~

“Grandpa Trevor?” Trevor glanced up at Kali from his paperwork. Kali was the younger of Victor’s twin daughters. At sixteen she had a good head for numbers and was planning on going into science. Her sister, Elizabeth, wanted to go into the ‘family business.’ About seventy years ago Gregor Mooreland had started up a bodyguarding business that had grown to be extremely effective and, when pressed, that was the business Elizabeth said that she was referring to. However, anyone who knew she was a Belmont knew that monster-hunting was her trade of choice.

“Yes, Kali?”

“If Liz and I are both trained in fighting monsters and weaponry, why are you sending us away for the whole ‘kill Satan plan’?” Trevor raised an eyebrow at her.

“Because you’re sixteen? And one of the greatest concepts to come out of the recent centuries is the idea that sixteen year olds shouldn’t be fighting wars?”

“But we can help!” Kali protested.

“Right now, you can help by being safe so we don’t worry about you throughout the entire battle,” Trevor told her. 

“Don’t you have that problem with everyone though? We must look like babies to you, even father and Ben!”

“Your father was not allowed to fight monsters on his own when he was sixteen either, and Ben has been the head of a bodyguarding business for twenty years now. They both have ample experience with battle and neither of them are letting anyone your age fight,” Trevor said and Kali slumped down and practically threw herself into his lap like she was six years old again.

“Can’t you make an exception?” She blinked at him, eyes wide and innocent.

“You’re gonna be a heartbreaker one day,” he smiled at her fondly, “but no.” She rolled off of him with a devastated groan.

“Be safe without us then?” She met his eyes seriously, dark eyes boring into his soul.

“It’s dangerous work, I’ll be as safe as I can be,” Trevor promised her.

“I’ll never forgive you if you don’t come back,” she told him and with that she strode out of the room with an elegance that she couldn’t have gotten from her father.  Belmonts weren’t elegant - graceful yes, but only in the way a predator was.

~

The once grand halls of his father’s castle were overrun by demons, and seeing it hurt more than Trevor anticipated. Despite the awful memories that he had there, this place was a symbol of his father’s power and currently it reflected the powerless, confused man that his father had become. 

However, time was of the essence and he couldn’t spend time wallowing. 

For the first time in centuries Trevor didn’t have a moment to spare. He grinned, and he heard his mother’s laugh in his ear.

“Is it time to hunt, Trevor?” Usually he would protest the allusion to his more animalistic nature, but it was that very nature that allowed him to enter the castle. It wasn’t like he could disagree. “Earth doesn’t hold the truly powerful beasts, I know. Have you missed the thrill of the chase?”

“Yes,” he said simply and drew his blade.

~

Imitating Zobek’s lieutenant was easier than he expected it to be. Zobek didn’t notice anything as long as he pretended to be somewhat aggrieved by Dracula’s presence. While Zobek was baffled by Dracula’s continuous disappearances but he didn’t seem inclined to ask for Alucard’s input. Alucard could  _ feel _ the castle repairing itself and the darker part of himself spat at the Castle’s feet.

_ “Is this how you honor your father?”  _ The castle had asked him, and now those in the castle who would wreak havoc in their master’s absence are suffering at his father’s feet.

_ Yes _ , he thought,  _ that is how I honor my father and my mother. Time for you to suffer the retribution of your lost master _ .

Now it was time to honor his father by following him through the deep tunnels under the city.

Yay, sewers.

~

As Alucard watched his own body fight his father without his volition, he knew he should be concerned. However, this was the one thing his mother had told him about in dangerous detail, so at this moment he was just bored. Personally he had never enjoyed watching battles unless it involved teaching the fighters and, despite Satan’s comments to his father, he couldn’t really feel any of the blows that landed. 

He hadn’t expected how much fun it was to work with his father. The man was brilliant and driven beyond what he’d seen in even the most dedicated of soldiers. He knows that, if his father was amenable, he wants to spend more time with him and hopefully help heal his father’s wounds. He didn’t know if they could necessarily have a parent/child bond, not when Alucard had never wanted for a father nor had Gabriel ever expected a son, but he still wanted a chance to share the rest of his family with him.

A part of him was appalled at how easily his father went to kill his body for a second time, but Alucard also wanted Satan dead so he couldn’t hold it against him.

It had been almost a millennia since he had drank blood as powerful as his father’s and he hated how delicious it was. With his father’s assistance he managed to stand with little pain and he could feel his open wounds healing at an inhuman pace. 

“It won’t kill me,” Dracula said as he walked with Alucard down the street to the Tower.

“You’ve known that since the beginning.” Alucard had suspected it might not but he hadn’t been able to confirm.

“Yes.”

“Why did you help me then?” Alucard had to ask.

“Because you asked,” Dracula said and Alucard stopped to stare at his father. “My son, you walked up to the most powerful creature on Earth and asked me for help. Not only that, but you were entirely honest the whole encounter - you didn’t give me flowery words, or sugar coat what I’d be doing. You didn’t have any hidden agenda.” Dracula looked up to the sky and Alucard could almost swear that he saw  _ longing _ on his father’s face. “Humanity may be full of horrible people and delusioned idiots, but you showed me in that moment that people can be good too.”

Alucard couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips and they walked in silence once more.

“What are you going to do now?” Alucard asked him as they reached a private entrance into the Tower.

“Take back control over the Castle and after that,” his father took a deep breath, “I’m not sure. I can’t die. I guess I’ll go back to what I did before.”

“Sit in the dark all alone and brood?” Dracula glared at him but Alucard just smiled. “You could stay in the Tower with me and mine. Come visit some time.”

“Maybe.”

~

Trevor didn’t know  _ how _ he knew that Victor wasn’t dead, but a month after Satan’s death he found himself standing at the place of Victor’s sacrifice.

A moment later his father stood next to him. In silence they looked over the runes of the spell Victor cast to draw Satan’s beast’s attention. It was one Alucard recognized well, and Victor probably knew it from the same Tome that Alucard did.

“Huh,” Alucard muttered.

“Yes?” Dracula looked at him.

“Well,” Alucard began, “this array isn’t actually meant to grab attention. It would be highly unlikely to mistake it for one either, especially to those who spend any significant period of time studying them.”

“Why would he use it then?” Dracula asked and Alucard took a moment to scrutinize the array once more.

“Oh, you idiot,” he growled, “He went for the array that would take the most amount of power. He probably expected it to kill him, especially considering he had already used an abundance of energy.”

“Instead it worked.” Dracula concluded.

“Yes.” Alucard walked to the part of the array that had cracked after Victor had finished the spell. “I’m about to do something monumentally stupid. If this doesn’t work, or does, could you make sure it doesn’t permanently kill or incapacitate me?”

“Sure,” Dracula agreed dubiously and with that Alucard repaired the circle and immediately felt as if the ground had fallen out from under him.

When he blinked his eyes open and saw his father’s face, but much younger he groaned.

At least it had worked.

When his mother walked into the room, impossibly young and indomitable he felt a warmth bloom in his chest. Seeing her alive and well was the greatest gift he could ever have received.

The blood she gave him was  _ rank _ and while he loves her more than anything, she was a troublemaker.

~

“So,” Victor begins, “You’re actually Alucard?” Trevor looks up at him from the bed he’s currently sprawled on, trying to recover from the energy it takes to travel through time with the added bonus of the past wounds from the Battle with Satan.

“The fact I am Alucard is not mutually exclusive from the fact I am Trevor Belmont.”

“Speak clearly, grandpa,” Victor groused and Trevor couldn’t help but smile when Victor blushed. He hadn’t called Trevor grandpa in a  _ long _ time. Most of the family didn’t after they had kids of their own. 

“My birth name is Trevor Belmont, second of the Belmont line and son of Gabriel Belmont. After I died and became a vampire, I was given the name Alucard by Dracula. As you well know, I don’t often go by Alucard.”

“Do the Moorelands know?” Victor asked. 

“Some of them through the years have but none of the current ones know. I’ll probably have to tell Ben now that Dracula is back,” Alucard mused.

“Why don’t you advertise it? Tell everyone?” Victor asked.

“Because that would mean giving the story of my life to everyone in the family for a thousand which would get tedious,” Alucard told him. “I would much rather just be the immortal vampire uncle.”

“Speaking of immortal vampirism, why is the time travel taking a harder toll on you than me?” Victor’s tone was scornful and mocking, but Trevor had helped raise this man. He knew that he hid concern behind his gravelly exterior.

“After you left I got possessed by Satan and got the shit kicked out of me by Dracula simultaneously,” Alucard said. “That sort of thing leaves one out of sorts and drained on power. Thus it was significantly more painful for me to travel through time than it was for you.”

“Is there a way I can help you?” Victor asked.

“No,” Trevor said, though he smiled at the kindness. “I must simply wade my way through. Might have to shapeshift to keep up my energy.”

“Ah yes,” Victor gave Trevor the all too familiar troublemaker smile, “puppy grandpa.”

Trevor sighed.

~

The one thing Trevor  _ despises _ about his wolf-form is the wolf-like instincts. They lead him to being… forward. It takes him an hour to realize he’s been leaning into Gabriel hard enough that the man has to widen his stance to accommodate it.

Later on he finds himself spending the night curled into a ball next to Victor. At least Victor has experience with how he can be, so he doesn’t question it. In fact, when Victor was a toddler, he could barely sleep unless Trevor slept on him in wolf form.

“It’s weird,” Victor murmured, stroking Trevor’s ears. When Trevor makes an inquisitive noise, he continues, “Seeing you this small. You’re usually larger than life in wolf form and now… god, you look like a puppy.”

Trevor nipped him.

“Hey! You do, you’re so tiny!” Victor yelped as Trevor nipped him again, with more force. “Okay, okay I’ll stop.”

The instincts don’t lead to anything too embarrassing until the last few minutes they’re in the past. 

Wolves are pack creatures and the scent of his father’s approach fills the wolf in him with indescribable joy. Which, as a wolf, causes his tail to wag and he can’t really do anything to stop it.

_ Damn it. _

What’s  _ worse _ is that when his father walks into the room, he goes bolting at him with an unwarranted vigor. Although when it comes to inadvisable decisions, his father really takes the cake so Trevor is sure he’ll forgive him for the oddity of his greeting.

“Oh,” is the first thing to come out of Dracula’s mouth, “Your wolf form is… breathtaking.” His father looked over Alucard, expression both concerned and admiring. “None of my forms are anywhere near as pretty.” Honestly, Alucard was too tired to even react to that. “Are you ready to go home?” Alucard returned to his human form and gave his father a quiet affirmation.

Later on, when Victor asks, he will say that he clings to his father because of the residual wolf instincts. The truth is that this is the first time his father has held him since he died. He grew up an orphan who only knew the painful touch of punishment. While Marie had done her best to make sure he came out whole, he still didn’t come out unscathed. For the first time in his life, for the first time in two thousand years, Alucard allowed himself to be held. He remembers all the times Marie had told him that Gabriel would have been a wonderful father and he never quite believed her. Here, now, wrapped in his father’s arms, he believes her.

He can be embarrassed about his clinging another day. For now, he lets his father take him home.

~

Victor does  _ not _ bring it up. 

_ Thank God. _

~

Benjamin Mooreland has known Trevor Belmont for his entire life and yet, somehow, the man still manages to surprise him. The last year has been one of the most intense of his life and yet he is delighted to be a part of it. Trevor had taken over Bioquimek Corporation and Zobek Industries, as well as helped fund the city’s rebuilding with his own personal wealth. Where the wealth came from, Ben had no idea but Trevor clearly had no trouble investing it into the city. To Ben’s surprise, Trevor came to him to ask about bodyguarding, of all things.

When Ben had asked what a vampire needed a bodyguard for, Trevor had told him that he needed to appear human in order to appeal to the city and also it would be extremely annoying to deal with every little assassination attempt.

Ben couldn’t argue with that so he spent months finding the most competent personnel on the planet. Usually he tried to stay within his own company but he loved Trevor far too much to take a single chance. Besides, as the new CEO of two major companies, people would expect him to have the best of the best.

He asked Victor if he would be willing to help but the man had given him the most scathing look.

“Look Ben,” Victor had said, “If anyone manages to get a stake in his heart, they deserve to kill him. No, don’t give me that look. After two thousand years, there really isn’t shit I could do to defend him.”

He hadn’t asked Victor again.

That had been almost four months ago and everyone had finally settled into the routine of working in the Tower. The city was still a mess but it was improving faster than anybody had expected, thanks to Trevor.

“Ben?” 

“Yes, Mr. Belmont?” Ben said, just to see Trevor twitch at the formality.

“Victor’s daughters are going to be flying back into town tomorrow, I need you to set up an escort for them,” Trevor said.

Ben smiled. It would be good to have them back. With Kali pursuing science and Elizabeth doing her best to follow in Ben’s footsteps, everyone knew they would go far. However, they were sure to be mad for being sent away for so long. Anyone in the family under the age of twenty had been sent away, but Kali and Elizabeth had been the most frustrated with it. Trevor had been unsurprised as apparently their family had a history of not knowing when to back down. 

To be honest, they were lucky to be flown back so soon. All the other kids and teenagers were going to remain in the Belmont safehouse in Dubai for another six months at least.

“Trevor,” Ben said slowly, “What did they do to convince you to let them back?”

Trevor side eyed him. “They said nothing. I thought they would put up more of a fight and I thought they deserved a reward. Besides, they are old enough to look after themselves if the need comes.”

It didn’t take long for Ben to set up the escort, especially considering he would be in charge of the girls. Trevor could take care of himself for a few hours and the girls definitely need him more.

“Uncle Ben! Uncle Ben!” They came running up to him and practically jumped in his arms. They hadn’t grown at all during their time away but Elizabeth had definitely gained weight.

“Ugh, girls you’re too old for this,” Ben mock-groaned as he placed them down. He gave each of them a once over. While nothing had happened in Dubai, he would rather check over them himself. Plus, they had been gone for a year and he wanted to see how they changed for himself.

They had both darkened in India, their skin almost matching their mother’s. Looking at Elizabeth he couldn’t help but wonder if she spent any of her time outside of the gym. She had already been well muscled when she left and now it seemed like her biceps had doubled in size. 

Kali had always been less inclined to spend time in the gym than her sister, but if her arms muscles were anything to go by, she hadn’t been skimping out either. 

“Hello, dears,” he said with a helpless smile.

“Come  _ on _ ,” they said simultaneously and grabbed him together to drag him to the baggage claim. He could only laugh.

~

Watching a pair of seventeen year olds tackle Victor Belmont was definitely one of the highlights of Ben’s life. Victor let them take him down gracefully and laughed with an unrestrained delight. Ben was certain he would be the same when his boys came home.

Trevor got almost the exact same treatment but managed to stay upright with no effort whatsoever. Ben rolled his eyes, trying to hide his smile.  _ Vampires _ .

After the girls got home, Ben expected everything about Trevor to return to normal. The last few years have been odd and he’d never seen Trevor so stressed. Considering the man was practically planning for the end of the world, Ben couldn’t blame him.

Everything returned to normal for a little while.Things changed after about two months when the creepy man showed up and asked for Trevor Belmont.

“Mr. Mooreland?” The tinny voice in his ear sounded distinctly uncomfortable. “We have a situation on the ground floor.”

The last thing he expected to find was his team speaking with a man in leather pants and a dramatic coat. The pitch black of the pants and button up made the blood red of the coat stand out and highlight exactly how pale the man was. Something about the way he held himself and moved while he spoke to Ben’s team made Ben think  _ predator _ . He didn’t have any obvious weapons on him. but Ben knew that meant nothing. He worked for a vampire after all.

“Excuse me, sir.” The moment the man’s eyes laid on Ben he couldn’t help but feel a frisson of fear run down his spine “My team has informed me that you are making a request above their authorization. How can I help you?” The man tilted his head and gave Ben a once over, looking at Ben like he was an ant.

“I would like to speak with Trevor.” The way the man said it, Ben had no doubt that he was referring to Trevor Belmont, not one of the many other Trevors that worked for Belmont.

“I can’t authorize that, sir.” Ben gave the man a polite smile.

“Then get me someone who can,” Creepy Bastard said.

“Sir, there are processes involved with getting a meeting with Mr. Belmont and I don’t pick and choose who gets to see him. If you want to see him, you will simply have to go through the processes.” The man’s eyes darkened dangerously and Ben tensed.

“Fuck’s sake, why didn’t you just call first?” Victor Belmont came striding into the room, “Maybe if you let us know you were coming, we wouldn’t have let security stop you.”

“Your security can’t stop me,” Still Creepy But Apparently Authorized said. 

“Maybe no, but do you really want to upset Trevor by killing all of his people? He’s particularly fond of Ben.” Victor said, and Ben could not believe Victor was describing him like some lost pet.

“Don’t worry about this one, Ben,” Victor gave him a quick smile. “He gets full clearance.” With that,Victor pulls the man to the elevator.

_ What. _

~

After that, the man comes in to see Trevor constantly. By the time another four months have passed, Ben still doesn’t even have a name for the man. He doesn’t even see the man leave the tower. Every time the man shows up, Ben could have sworn the man hadn’t even left the Tower in the first place.

When all the kids get back from the safehouse, Ben’s mother sets up a family gathering at the old house to celebrate everyone surviving the infection.

And Trevor brings the creepy man with him.

He might think that this is Trevor’s way of introducing some new boyfriend or lover to the family but, as far as Ben is aware, Trevor has never had a serious relationship. Besides, the way they interact is not the way a pair of new lovers do.

They act like Ben did with his own father before he passed away. That was impossible though because Trevor was an extremely old vampire, his father had to be dead.

This would be a  _ very _ awkward way to find out his weird uncle and boss had a daddy kink.

“Alright, Trevor,” Ben’s mother said loudly over the dinner table and everyone fell silent. “Introduce me to the old man you’ve brought home.” Trevor spluttered.

“Mellissa,  _ what _ .” It wasn’t a question and Ben couldn’t help but laugh at seeing his boss get genuinely surprised. “He’s not my  _ lover _ .”

“Oh, I know that. However, the last recorded time you brought  _ anyone _ home was Leon Belmont. So you can’t blame me for being curious.”

Trevor and the man shared a glance.

“Okay, everyone,” Trevor took a deep breath and if it were anyone else Ben would think he was nervous, “Meet my father twice over, Gabriel Belmont.” For some reason Gabriel side eyed Trevor at the name.

“Twice over?” Somebody yelped.

“You know very well that I am a thousand years old. He’s my blood father and my vampiric father. Victor’s ancestor.” Trevor smiled at Gabriel who seemed mostly ambivalent  in response.

“Well then,” Ben’s mother smiled, “Welcome to the family Gabriel.”

Ben still thinks he’s creepy, but sets his discomfort aside for Trevor.

~

Trevor is over a thousand years old and he finally has his father. They don’t always agree, especially when his father thinks that going by the name Dracula will go over well. 

Some days it’s easy to be his father’s son. His father doesn’t expect anything out of him. In fact he seems pretty pleased with Trevor no matter what he does. It’s weird to have someone older than him. He’s been the oldest member of his family for centuries and to suddenly have an ‘elder’ is strange.

He didn’t want to force a relationship with his father but at the same time he didn’t want to push him away. His father clearly didn’t know how to interact with him either.

Trevor was far too old to need a father and Gabriel knew this.

Some days it was hard. Dracula’s bitterness and apathy came through and in the end, Alucard was still a champion of the people. They got into screaming arguments that  lasted for hours. When Dracula became apathetic, he wouldn’t visit Alucard for weeks, forcing Alucard to seek him out.

“Father?” 

“Hmm?” Dracula lounged on the monstrosity he called a throne and by the look of him, he hadn’t moved in an inhuman amount of time.

“Oh dear,” Trevor said, striding over to his father and forcing the man to look at him. Despite the fact that his father was an unkillable immortal, he couldn’t help but give him a once over. Trevor was a father a thousand times over and caring is a hard habit to break. Time to get his father back into that habit. “Have you even moved in the last two weeks?”

“I don’t know.” 

Trevor sighed and began to pull his father up and to the nearest room so he was at least lying down.

“Why do you even care?” His father didn’t sound hopeless or lost, just dead.

“Why wouldn’t I care?” Trevor responds gently.

“Because you are everything humanity needs and I’ve killed many of the humans you love so much.” 

“So have I. Not all cruel acts are done by monsters. You know even better than I do that humans can be the worst of this planet,” Trevor pushed open the door to his father’s bedroom and sat down on the bed while his father changed. “I love you because you deserve it andbecause you are my father.”

“Many would disagree with you. Besides, you don’t know me well enough to love me.” His father climbed under the covers and Trevor joined him, curling into him like a child despite being taller than his father.

“The way I see it, it takes ages to fall in love. To love your family, however, isn’t just an emotion - it’s a promise.” The lights went out with a wave of his father’s hand and Trevor felt the gentle touch of his father’s claws in his hair, “When I tell you that I love you, it’s not to lie you into submission or to mitigate your anger. I tell you I love you because I know what kind of person you are and I want to spend the next few years figuring out what kind of father you are. I know that my mother loved you because you were kind, and I’ve seen that. I asked you to put aside all of your anger and do something that would inconvenience you more than anyone else and you did. I tell you I love you because I believe in you. Somehow, you killed me and yet you still have been far kinder to me than people who claim to be good, righteous, men of God. So I love you, father. Good night.”

His father’s claws stilled and Trevor heard a huff of laughter.

“I guess I can’t argue with that. Good night, Trevor.”

~

Trevor had known that there was a reason his mother didn’t really interact with his father but he hadn’t really thought about it until his father walked into his office one day and completely ignored her. He saw his father’s eyes flicker to the side, so he knows that Dracula saw her. For some reason though, he completely disregarded her presence.

“Okay, father, what was that?” 

“Excuse me?” His father seemed baffled.

“He thinks I’m a hallucination,” Marie piped up. When she spoke Trevor could see his father twitch.

“What?” Trevor looked directly at Marie, “What do you mean he thinks you’re a hallucination?”

It took them about ten minutes to entirely clarify exactly  _ what _ Marie is and then Marie drags Gabriel away (considering she’s not corporeal, Trevor isn’t sure how) while shouting at Trevor that they would be gone for about a week.

Trevor felt like someone had hit him upside the head with a brick.

~

A week later Victor calls him to the ground floor to handle a ‘problem with security and personnel.’ Trevor pushed down his confusion and made his way to the elevator.

When he got to the front desk he could see his parents, Ben, and Victor in a heated discussion. It took a moment to realize what had thrown him off before he realized that they were talking to  _ his mother _ .

“Victor,” he called hope climbing in his chest, “Ben, what seems to be the problem over here?”

“Mr. Belmont,” Ben said with too much formality, “Your father is requesting that this woman be allowed to come see you. However, unlike his own initial introduction, she does not have a member of security to vouch for her.”

“Victor is not a member of security who could vouch for my father either. If you could accept Victor’s assessment, you can accept my father’s.”

“Sir,” Ben sighed, “I have worked with Victor for a number of years. I barely know your father. You know I can’t take his word for your safety, not when I don’t know him well enough to trust him.” Trevor blinked.

“Thank you for your honesty and desire to keep me safe,” Trevor smiled at him, “but you can take my word for it. She is allowed full access to the building.”

With that, Ben nodded and went to update the security information to include her in it. Trevor appreciated Ben more and more the longer he worked with him.

“Come with me,” he said to his parents while trying to hide the smile that wanted to split his face.

They followed him silently while he led them up to his office near the top floor of the tower. Kali had made a joke about Vampires loving high places when she had first come  to see him.

He didn’t have the heart to disagree especially when he found that there was nothing better than flying through the city during the night.

The moment the door to his office was closed, his mother all but tackled him and he gripped her tight in turn. It had been centuries since he had hugged his mother and a deep part of him never wanted to let go of her.

Throughout his entire life, she was the one person who had stood by him. Sometimes she infuriated him beyond all measure but in this moment he knew that he wouldn’t let her go for all the money in the world. For the first time in his life, he had both of his parents with him.

He sunk into the embrace when his father joined, warm arms wrapping around them. He buried his face into his mother’s neck and he knew he was crying but he didn’t do anything to stop it.

If there was any moment that he deserved to cry for, it was this one.

~

Marie had a very distinct knowledge of how her entire life was going to go from the very moment she was old enough to understand. She knew the facts of every moment.

Nothing could beat the reality of the experience, of being held by her son and her husband and knowing they were both safe.

It would take years for them to recover. Gabriel was still furious at the world and it would take over a century for it to dissipate. Alucard needed to learn how to accept that sometimes it was okay to be cared for, that he didn’t always need to watch over everyone.

Her poor boys. God had given them the worst of life and yet here they were. Strong and so loving. Furious, yes but they always had been.

Marie had spent her entire existence as a slave to fate. So had Gabriel, and so had Alucard but now it was time for them to rest. She looked into the future, to what it had in store for them and she smiled.

They wouldn’t always be happy, but Trevor never would be while he outlived his loved ones and Gabriel would suffer to watch his son be in pain.

Some things never change and never should.

Marie looked up at Gabriel, her best friend, her husband, and kissed him. Then she kissed her son’s cheek and stroked his soft hair.

Marie hadn’t truly understood the pain that would come with giving her son up until she had no other choice.

Standing, wrapped up in her family, she knew and understood what it meant to love and be loved in return.


End file.
